We are what?
by purpleanimegirl
Summary: In a city where Akumas are made from negative emotions, two heroes fight for everyone. It's been three years and one becomes infected by an Akuma but doesn't transform. This leads to a bigger problem as they discover a change in ladybug and Chat from the use of the Miraculous Charms. Can everyone survive? Or will Paris lose to Hawkmoth? I do not own Miraculous LB&CN.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone. I thought I'd throw out a Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir story. I kind of would like to see what you guys would think about this idea that came to my mind. It's rough but please tell me if you enjoy it or not. Here we go. Here's Chapter 1.

Tell me something, if you were part of a class together with someone for three years in a row and no matter how obvious your feelings for that person were to everyone he never noticed you? At the age of 14, we had met for the first time. I also became Ladybug at that time as well. We weren't on good terms at first either, I believed he was just like Chloe because of the whole chewing gum on my seat, but that changed when he came up to me and explained what happened and apologized to me. I had been bullied by Chloe everyday till Alya joined our class. Course, I still was bullied by Chloe just as bad sometimes even worse but it didn't bother me as much having Alya with me. Slowly, Nino and I became friends again. We were childhood friends but we became distant as the bullying got worse and I was just depressed. Then the Akumas began to appear and after realizing they appeared from strong negative emotions. So, I decided to hold it all in.

I'm now 17 years old and it is becoming too much. I spend most nights battling Akumas and the days at school, but I'm late nearly every morning because of the late night Akumas so I get detention often and I end up getting in trouble with my parents as well. Chloe uses these detention dates to her advantage since Alya is missing school a lot due to the many interviews she gets since I, as Ladybug, give all my interviews to her. This caused her Ladyblog to sky rocket in views and popularity and for many stations and crews to request her for a segment. I don't mind much because I know she is ecstatic about being able to be recognized. At first she wasn't going to go for them because she knew I'd miss her at school but I told her to do it. It's her chance at her dream why would I not support her.

I miss Alya. I regret becoming Ladybug at times. I'm grateful to be able to repair any damage caused by the Akumas. I wish I could tell my parents. I wish peopled understand. I wish Hawkmoth would just disappear.

"My Lady!" Chat Noir yelled gleefully once I had purified the Akuma butterfly. He pounced towards me to embrace me but last second I side stepped. He nearly fell but caught himself as we stood atop of one, of the many, newly repaired rooftops. His ring beeped a few moments before my earrings had.

"Not this time, Mon Chaton. Must be going I have school soon." I said taking note that the moon was nearing the horizon and the sun's light was peaking from the opposite direction. With a yawn I swung my yo-yo in the direction of my house. The yo-yo caught the tops of chimneys and allowed me to swing home. The last swing brought me to the balcony above my bedroom that laid on top of the family bakery. I climbed the ladder down into my room and de transformed. I was now wearing a pair of lavender colored cotton pajamas

"I'm sorry Marinette," Tikki said as she went to my desk where I had a small bowl sitting out with strawberry candies I had made specifically for Tikki and I when we had battles that took a lot of energy from us but we were unable to rest afterwards. Tikki unwrapped the wrapper of one and popped it into her mouth. I went ahead and got myself dressed for class today. It was a nice spring day, warm with a slight chill to the wind, so I settled quickly on a pair of denim blue jeans and a baby blue bell sleeved shirt I had made for myself a few months ago. The sleeves had hand embroidered crimson flowers that were scattered scarcely around the wrists and also lightly around the collar of the shirt. The collar came up just enough to cover the bruise that was developing on and around my shoulder. The bruise was still developing and was tender so I through my bag on my other shoulder so I didn't aggravate the injury even more. I let out a sigh as I thought back through my rotten luck. As Ladybug many believe I have amazing luck but outside of the transformation my luck is horrible. I thought of all the stress I've been under and couldn't help but slip up.

"Marinette!" Tikki shouted as she caught my attention and as Ii looked to her I saw it. A purple butterfly came flying through my window and the only way I could react was by muttering a curse.

"Shit." I said as it came in contact with my Miraculous. That's when I fell into a daze. Everything bad in my life came forward in my head and the good and obvious was hidden in the back amongst the crowd of negativity.

"I can take away your pains and sorrows. All you have to do is bring me both Chat Noir's and Ladybug's Miraculous." The familiar voice husky voice entered my mind. I knew it could be no one else but Hawkmoth for my room was empty besides me and Tikki, hearing the voice it immediately shocked me out of the trance though because I knew the voice, but I just could not place it. "What?! Not possible!" I heard a shout slowly fade out as I pushed all my negativity way, collecting myself enough to focus on the sound of Tikki's voice. The spotted fairy-like lady bug guardian has been calling my name and clutched onto the front of my shirt.

"Marinette!" Tikki shouted as she floated to be level with my face. "What happened? Are you ok?" Tikki asked as she cleared the tears from her eyes. I could only coo its okays to her and gentle pet her head before she grabbed onto my hand. "I was so worried you were going to get Akumatized Marinette."

"I'm fine" I said as I grabbed a handful of the candies and shoved them into my jean pocket then continued with, "I almost did but I pushed everything back and I guess I was able to stop it mid-way. I think you will have to find Plagg during Lunch and let hime know what happened cause I'm not sure why I didn't transform." Through the years I Tikki had told me the name of the Cat Miraculous Guardian and that she had seen him on campus on occasions so when Chat and Ladybug had to let each other know something they'd have the two give each other a message. They didn't do it quite often because they had to protect their Guardians, but this seemed to be important enough for a message to be sent.

"Yeah we need a brain storming session to know why this has happened. But if we don't hurry we will be late again." Tikki said as she flew into my messenger bag and successfully hid from sight. I was beginning to go down stairs to the main parent of the apartment when my father called up from in the bakery.

"Marinette, you need to come down stairs now and head to school." Father said. "One more tardy and you will be grounded for a month." He shouted and emphasized the word grounded. I was down into the bakery before he had finished his sentence and said I was already on my way out. I grabbed a fresh cherry turnover which he had finished baking and headed out the door telling them I'd see them later and that I was going to go to the library to study after school. I was just going to patrol for an hour after school then go to the library.

I arrived at school just before the bell rang and sat down in my seat just before the bell had rang. The teacher had reassigned seats so that rows 1 and 2 switched and 3 and 4 switched. Alya, when she was able to come to school, and I now sat in front of Adrien and Nino. I didn't mind this though because on most days after a Akuma battle I have either sore muscles or some sort of injury in my legs so it made it easier for me after having to go up the stairs to the classroom. Each row of seats had a waste basket at the end of each table, so it made it easy for me to dispose of the wrappers to the candies. I unwrapped two just as Adrien came in late and plopped one candy in my mouth, one in my bag that sat on the bench next to me, and the wrappers into the trash.

"Marinette did you just put a candy in your bag? Are you really that tired?" Nino whispered into my ear not waiting for an answered as he pulled my bag up and fished into the bag trying to find the candy as Adrien went and sat down next to him. He was tired it was obvious he must have had a long night because his eyes looked hollow. "What's this he" he asked pulling Tikki, who was dead still, half out of the bag. Adrien's eyes opened wide at the sight of Tikki.

'Great now he probably thinks I'm a child who brings toys to school.' I thought to myself feeling a darkness begin to surround me as I almost let my sadness and embarrassment take me over. It left me as I shook my head.

"It's a commission I'm working on." I quickly covered my ass as I grabbed for my bag and Tikki. "And for your information I was thinking of grabbing another candy." I said pulling a wrapped on I kept in a stash in my bag for emergencies. Grabbing four so that both Adrien and Nino could have two. I offered them towards them "Would you guys like some? They are strawberry flavored with a kick of orange and ginger for energy."

"Sure thanks Marinette," Adrien said with a tired smile that made my heart speed u a little and a blush to creep over my cheeks. He put one in his mouth and the other into his bag. I couldn't but watch as he slipped the candy past his lips and gave a gentle hum and his eyes shot up a little .

"Thanks Mari. I'll give them try." Nino replied. As he popped them both in his mouth and tossed the wrappers into the trash.

The teacher then cleared her throat which grabbed our attention. " Nice of you to join us today. Mr. Agreste you were late… again. Detention today after school. Ms. Dupain-Cheng detention as well for disrupting my class. Now as I was saying…" The teacher then continued with her introduction of the lesson. With a sigh I took out my note book and began to write my notes as she wrote them on the board.

The day continued like that. And when it came to lunch time I hid Tikki in my sleeve in a little pouch I made that'd keep her hidden but comfortable. It was windy out I noticed as I walked to the corner of the quad with my bag to let Tikki go do her thing.

"Be careful Tikki I'll be here and wait for you to go and speak with Plagg. I said as I pulled her from my sleeve. I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she then flew up towards the room of the school. I sat where I was and watched the people around me. Lunch was coming to an end when I saw that Chloe was on her way over to me with Sabrina in tow.

"Well look who it is, Sabrina. It's Marinette." Chloe said in her annoying tone once again as she feigned surprise. "I saw you talking to Adrien in class this morning." She said as she took a step closer to me as she took a confident pose with her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side. I just looked away to see if I could see Tikki anywhere nearby. It was no use at the moment though. "You know that's a no-no right. You think you'd learn right, but that's okay after detention I will refresh that lesson for you." Chloe said as she grabbed one pig tail of my hair, which has grown to mid-back, and gave it a tug so she had access to my ear. "Remember this baker girl. My dad is still the Mayor of Paris so you better mind your actions or-"

"Chloe what are you doing?!" A male voice dragged me and Chloe's attention towards him. It was Adrien. He came up to us and removed Chloe's hand from my hair it had been tangled up in. He gently ran his hand through it to untangle the knots in my hair her rings caused then set my hair on my shoulder over the bruise on my shoulder that was now revealed. "Go back to class Chloe. You are being mean and I do not appreciate how you are treating Marinette." He said. He was being nice but he doesn't realize what he just did. I just know that whatever Chloe had planned for me just got ten times worse.

"T-Thanks A-A-Adrien." I stuttered uncontrollably. Whenever it came to him I got so nervous and stuttered. That's when I noticed Tikki come out from a bush to my side and flew into my bag stealthily. I don't even think Chat Noir would have noticed her movement if he were to have been in Adrien's place. I let out a sigh as I saw Chloe staring at me from across the school yard. Adrien gave me his signature smile and I couldn't help but question why he came to my defense.

'I wonder if he knows that he only made it worse for me.' Then I saw Kim as he walked up to us and I gave him a smile and a small wave of my hand. He greeted up both.

"Hey you two free tomorrow night for a party?" Kim asked as he put a hand through his short cut hair.

"As far as I know I am. If my plans stay that way I don't see why I can't drop by. When would it start and end?" I answered. I knew what happened at his parties but I didn't really care much. His parties were known for drinking and dancing with pranks and fun in the pool. No one did any hardcore drugs for the most part. Those who did weren't given any from him and he had not been aware of it. My words made his face light up as I had never agreed to go before. I just saw Adrien shrug his shoulders from the corner of my eyes.

"Kool." Kim said as he turned to Adrien. "Dude if you are able to could you stop by it'd be great for you to be able to unwind some you know? Stress isn't good for you Adrien." He placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder. I turned towards Adrien to see his reaction. He looked at me then back to Kim.

"Why not." Adrien ended up saying making Kim woot and run off to tell Alix.


	2. Chapter 2

I've been hoping to be able to update my stories regularly but unfortunately I've been having to readjust my schedule and how I do things based on a recently developed disability. It's been difficult and I apologize to you all. Here's chapter 2 of What Are We.

...

School continued as always. I made my way back to the classroom as the warning bell chimed. Once classes were over I, along with Adrien, stayed behind in our seats. I pulled out my homework and popped a few of my candies into my mouth before the teacher came back from her quick errand.

"Marinette, do you have anymore of those candies?" Adrien asked from over my shoulder with his hand on my shoulder. With a hot blush on my checks I could not deny that beautiful smile he had on his face. I opened my mouth but all that came out were incomprehensible stutters so I nodded and reached into my bag and retrieved a hand full for Adrien to enjoy. I held them out to him and his smile widened and had a brightness to it.

"H-H-Here…" I said. For a second his face showed hurt but then quickly became that of a questioning nature. I cocked my head slightly.

"Are you sure I can have that many?" He asked. I nodded as my answer. "You still have enough for yourself right? Where did you get them? They are amazing."

"I-I make th-them myself." I blushed more. I then tilted my head down. "I have issues sleeping so to stay awake during the day… Well I – Uhm- Yeah." I laughed nervously after mumbling my response. He was about to speak when our teacher came in and directed us to stop talking and face the board.

Detention went by slowly but when it finally was over Adrien and I had left the room and went our separate ways after saying good bye to the teacher. Once I was sure that Adrien was out of earshot, I opened my bag so that Tikki could come out and we could transform and patrol for an hour then go to the library. As we transformed I couldn't help but notice how my uniform had changed since I originally had became Ladybug. I still wear my original skin tight full body suit, but over top of it I now wear a uniform much like the traditional Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasty traditional Chinese garb that acts almost like a ghostly shield. [Image link: art/Draft-Marinette-745405905 ] My hair, normally is, two twin pony tails that sit at the base of my skull. But today that hadn't been the case so I had free flowing mid back length hair that flowed with the translucent weightless traditional dress over top of my ladybug outfit. My yo-yo now sits on my hip above the Chinese spirit armor. I then just up and land on the roof of a nearby building. The past two years have been eventful as I've slowly been developing and improving my abilities.

I was fifteen when it happened. I came home from a perimeter check of the city to find that my mother and father had closed the bakery early. It was only 6 pm so we had another 3 hours before the shops sign was supposed to be turned like it was. When I entered the shop I called out to them and heard my mom from the dining room directing me to come to her. When I entered the dining room I had seen a woman who was almost an exact copy of my mother sitting across from my mother while my father sitting next to my mother with their hands intertwined. My mother's face was pale but her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying.

"What's going on mom? Dad? Is everything ok?" I asked as I sat in a seat to the side of my parents away from the woman. My mom nods her head. She looks at who I assume is her sister, that I've never met before, who was giving her a sad smile in return.

"Marinette meet Fei-Hung, my twin sister." My mother began. "She was hoping to teach you the traditions of our family. I won't force you to go, but I'm giving you the choice." All the eyes in the room were on me. I expanded the little control I had began to be able to control to sense the energies and moods of the room. This led me to feel the immense amount of magic around Fei-Hung, my aunt, who seemed to notice and she shot a smirk at me. She brushed her long hair, that must have just been mid-back, away from her face. "Would you want to go to China during your summer Vacations to train at the Cheng Temple?" I knew that Chat Noir and Rena Rouge could handle the Akumas that would appear while I was gone. All they would need to do is take the butterflies to Master Fu and he could contact me so that I could purify them after flying back to Paris as Ladybug with the wings I had discovered. With the wings I could fly fast enough to be able to get to and from the far boarders of Japan and Paris in 6 hours. I would be unable to participate in the actual battles but I'd be able to do the cleanup and repair any damages that would occur during their battles. I'd be able to do it. Seeing how my mother looked stressed by thinking about her having to force me and the look on my "aunt's" face made it seem as if I really didn't have much of a choice.

"I've always wanted to visit China one day." I didn't think I'd be visiting china this soon. I always thought I'd be out of school by the time I'd travel to my mother's homeland. That's when I knew I'd have to be prepared for many things that were to come. I knew I would experience many late nights and that it would take a lot of getting used to my wings before I'd be comfortable with the long and reoccurring flights.

I was right though. Most nights during the summer breaks I was at the temple I didn't get a chance to even lay down in my bed, but when I did I'd get no more than 2 hours of sleep at night. I could find some time in between lessons and my chores around the shrine so that I could still preform my Ladybug duties. Before I was able to take quick naps at the appropriate times I'd fall asleep in the middle of my tasks like sweeping or when I'd wipe the floors and all the surfaces in the temple. But it only took me about a month to get the hang of that. Now I take the energy candies I made so that I don't have to worry about falling asleep at inappropriate times.

I just had one problem I received some very unwanted information upon my arrival back in Paris at the end of last summer.


	3. Chapter 3

Heya everyone. I had to repost this chapter because for some reason when I post using the app the chapter comes out in Html format. I believe that is what is happening at least. Here is Chapter three. Please feel free to comment. I believe that all opinions are helpful. If I make a mistake please tell me. If it was unintentional I will fix it but if there's a deeper meaning behind it I will let you know. So here we go. Enjoy!

...

"Marinette, if you wish to continue being Ladybug with ease you will need to focus on your training here." My aunt, Fei-Hung, said as she sat across the room from me on a tan cushion across from me. I was shocked that she knew about my identity but I quickly tried to convince her that she was mistaken.

"W-what do you mean?!" I asked as I nervously scratched my neck. I hadn't meant to scratch my neck, but I was scared she'd tell my parents or out me to the public. I don't know her and the way she spoke made it sound like she'd do both, especially the former, and I couldn't have that happen because it would hurt the others if I could no longer be Ladybug.

"You have probably already began to notice that you transformation times have began to get cut short or end without your kwami or you canceling the transformation. If my estimations are correct, I would estimate that you'd have roughly three months before you would no longer be able to transform." She ignored my question completely and gave me a no nonsense look that was similar to the one my mother would give me. I bit my lip. Why would I be unable to transform? I have noticed that the transformations were being disrupted by something but me and Tikki were unable to figure out what could have been causing it. It started with the five minutes that I'd have after using my Lucky Charm. Once I activated my lucky charm the timer would begin but it would only have 4 minutes left on it. Them the timer started losing time the notifications began to get faster to the point that they'd go off every thirty seconds. If I could get through the battle without using my lucky charm I could fight for about an hour total but the time would very depending on how often I'd use the yo-yo. If I go without using the yo-yo I could go several hours as Ladybug.

"What makes you think I'm Ladybug?" I asked her with a confidant voice. She smirked at my question.

"At first I was curious about the identity of Ladybug, but when the amulet activated I knew you had to be Ladybug." She stated. Fei-Hung took in the look on my face then asked me "How much about our side of the family do you know?" I held back a nervous laugh.

"Mom doesn't talk much about her life before she met dad." I said as I adjusted myself on the cushion. The hard, wooden floor below it was not masked by the cushion and was causing an ache in my legs.

"I kind of figured I'd need to explain a lot to you." She stood up from her cushion so I followed. "Follow me, dear." She led me out of the room down the hall and around the corners it housed. There were few doors along the way. We came to the end and there was a single door at the end of the hall. Inside said room was a shrine with an amulet, the one she mentioned from before, on a stand and surrounded by lit incenses. "This shrine holds our family's most treasured artifact. It's known as the Maiden's Tears." Fei-Hung said as she bowed her head towards the necklace as she clasped her hands together in a prayer gesture. The necklace was held one a chain that was made of a metal that's color was close to that of our own hair color and had a gorgeous pendent hanging from it. A large tear shape was cut out of what looked like an opal and held diamonds and sapphires that were in a checkered pattern. I could feel the energy of the necklace pressing on me as soon as I had entered the room. "Our family has always been protectors of the miraculous items alongside the monks but our temple had been raided back when the governments tried to control the religious groups in this country and resulted in our numbers to be greatly reduced. A nationwide man hunt had been put on our remaining ancestors, so they went into hiding. We fell out of contact with the monks and when we were safe and came back out we found that the monks were all gone and the Items were as well. Our clan leader at the time became so upset that she cried out one full moon night with both her body and her soul. Around her neck was the hair of her older twin who had been caught and killed. That turned to this metal that holds the creation of her sorrow. This world holds nothing that can break these two items. We are the protectors of the necklace for if this were to get into the wrong hands it could cause as much trouble for the world as if your miraculous and the cat miraculous were to come into contact with one another." He story was sad but I still wasn't sure how this had anything to do with my transformation.

"How does this affect my transformations though?" I asked aloud.

"This affects your transformation because, to protect this necklace, our family line has been graced with tremendous magical powers which normally awakens after the 16th birthday of the females in our family. But males never seem to grace our line. We are born in pairs of two for each of our girls. Your mother and I were twins. Our mother was older than her younger sister which followed four generations of twins."

"So our family has magical abilities and I'm most likely going to have a younger sister because of how our family line has been for generations?" I was curious as to why my mother had never mentioned this to me before. If she knew this was going to happen it would have been nice to know ahead of time.

"No you will not have a younger sister." She said matter-of-factly as she led me out of the room. We began to head down the hall once more but do not go back to the room we began in.

"But you-"

"You will not have a younger sister because you had an older sister." Fei-Hung said as she opened a door and walked through it. I stood frozen ten feet from the door to the right that she entered. This was news to me. I didn't believe her because if I had an older sibling I would have known it. I'd have found some sort f trace of another girl living in our house. My aunt then walked back out of the room and cleared her throat. "Marinette follow me. I know this is all new to you but we must make sure you are informed and that all of this happens in a timely manner." I follow her into the room to see that we were in a room that was similar to a library that held everything from books to scrolls. That were all in different states and obviously ages. There were scrolls that looked to be ages old and others that could have been written days prior to our entrance. "You will need to become fluent in Chinese along side the training I will be providing you with." She said as she grabbed a few books off the shelves. "Books with spines like these," she showed me the spines then place them back in their places, "are incident reports. We take note of everything and keep them in chronological order. Once you are able to read, write, and speak Chinese to my liking I will grant you permission to read from the books we keep here." She then leads me out of the room and we finally end up back in the company entertaining room, where we first were, and we sat back on our thin cushions. "Training begins this afternoon. I shall have one of the girls show you around while I run some errands. I shall have lunch prepared, and then we shall begin your training. We will finish by 6 pm this evening and then dinner will be prepared. Then, I suggest you rest because at 4:30 you will begin chores around our temple, then you will eat breakfast then we will begin Chinese course, once its time for lunch you will eat, followed by training, and dinner then repeat. This is your schedule for summers while you are here. I expect you to practice your training when it is no longer summer vacation though. If you do not training during the school year then it will only become tougher for you."

I was going to have a rough few months at this rate. I was sure of it. I nodded when she gave me a questioning look that made me think she was asking if I understood what she was saying. I felt her Energy send a pulse out to the next room on our side, followed by a similar pulse, and then the door opening to reveal a girl dressed similarly to us. She was roughly 5'6 with the same color hair and eyes as us and her hair was mid back length but held in a single pony tail at the back of her neck that showed she had light waves to her hair. She was about 18 years old but gave off a mature aura. With her entrance she had bowed deeply to my aunt and gave a normal formal bow in my direction which I reciprocated.

"This is Xin-Yi. She shall show you around." Fei-Hung directed to me then looked at Xin-Yi. "Xin-Yi, this is Marinette. She is my niece so you will show her around." Her tone was harsh and demanding but Xin-Yi seemed to pay no mind to the way she was spoken to, but she did react to Fei-Hung saying I was her niece. She had flinched at the word and kept her head down. Fei-Hung then dismissed us and Xin-Yi began her tour of the temple. We did not go in the direction of the hall that led to the necklace. I understood everything that Xin-Yi was telling me, though her French was choppy, but I couldn't help that my mind kept slipping back to thoughts of my sister who I had never known about till my aunt had told me about her.

I hadn't known then but I was happy about being given the chance to understand everything then because it turns out the training is only going to benefit me more than I could have ever imagined.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everybody I have another chapter for you. I have decided to try and start increasing the word count in each of my chapters for all my stories. I plan on doing over 2,000 words in each chapter starting with chapter 5. Please enjoy this chapter I made sure to finish this chapter tonight (but now it's like 2am lol). Sorry about the delay. Here's chapter 4. Enjoy.

...

An Akuma struck again, early Thursday morning at roughly 3 am. Tikki woke me up with a shake to my head as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"Tikki… What… is it?" I asked her as I turned over and pulled the blankets back up to my chin and cuddled into my cat shaped pillow. She flew back in front of my face and she nudged me muttering that an Akuma was wreaking havoc on Paris. Though I didn't want to, I got up anyways, and transformed into Ladybug. Jumping from my balcony, I swung through Paris and found my way to the Akuma who was a man who had a fight with his wife went by the Betrayed. He was a man I ran into quite often recently. His wife made them move to Paris from their quaint little country town. He had some trouble finding himself a job after the move because he had been a worker at a farm. His name was Randy before he became an Akuma.

"Hello, My Lady." Chat Noir said as he plopped down on the roof next to me. He was tired as well and I knew so because his words, though still filled with affection, but it was filled with exhaustion. His voice seemed so familiar but lately we are running on two or three hours of sleep. It's to the point that he could be Alya. That's how tired I was. "What do we got?" He added as he supported himself with his staff.

"The Betrayed. He's a kind man, Randy, just moved to town for his wife's job. He has two kids and a busy wife." I said as I took note of the Akuma. He was eight and a half feet tall. Sporting a military crew cut and a black uniform, both of which were not ones he'd been known to have, and to top it all off was the golden band like halo atop his head. "Randy had recently gotten a job at a supermarket as an after-hour stocker. He walked through the streets of Paris and destroyed a lot of things. How he saw it was; a light that was supposed to illuminate the area who "betray" you by not working, the hydrant that was supposed to make water readily available in case of a fire would instead spray the water all over the road, and his _favorite_ betrayal seemed to have started to become the buildings as people came out of their houses he'd cause them to crumble. "Chat get everyone from here to the tower to evacuate the area." I barked orders towards Chat Noir knowing he knew I didn't mean to be rude despite how my words may have came out. I had an idea with how to fight this Akuma. I may not have to use my lucky charm if everything goes according to my plan. I used my yo-yo to fling myself next to the Akuma as I called out to him. "Hey Betrayed!" I shouted then slung myself across the street to his other side when he had gone to shoot me with a beam of golden light that originated from his halo. His attack seemed to go where ever his hand was directing it, so by zigzagging like this I should be able to lead him to the tower easily as I swung from light post to light post.

"Stop moving." He shouted as he ran after me. His height made him cover more ground as he ran but not enough for him to pass me. "All women are not loyal. They will ultimately betray those who care for them. So why don't I just speed up the process?" He asked. It seemed he didn't expect an answer since he had laughed a sadistic and crazed laugh that tore at my heart. The poor guy, I could only guess that the reason he got Akumatized because either his wife had cheated on him or it was because he believed she had.

"Maybe I don't feel like it." I tossed over my shoulder directed at him. A head I saw Chat direction a crowd of citizens towards the designated evacuation route in case of an Akuma attack. "What will you do if I don't?" I teased as I swung to the side of the road where if he shot a blast at me it would completely avoid hitting any citizens if I dodged. Which he did shoot at me and hit the light I was swinging on. I was about 50 yards from the tower, so I swung my yo-yo at the light across the street as the one I was on snapped because of the ray. I pulled on my yo-yo hard enough that as I swung up I flew higher than if I had just hung on like I previously had been. I then launched my weapon at the tower and the string wrapped around one of the beams allowing me to swing farther and faster. I lead the Akuma safely to the tower. Along the way there had been no injuries to the civilians which I was proud of. The more damage I had to repair the less of my wounds that got healed because My aunt had me storing my magical energy for a seal she had me learning. All Cheng maidens were made to get this seal upon their 18th birthday, but because I had activated my abilities I was made to charge this seal earlier than the others.

As he approached the Eiffel tower he had tried to climb the tower to where I was he kept encountering difficulties because he was unable to do so. Either he couldn't jump high enough to grab the rail, or he'd slip back to the ground from any progress he made when climbing up the legs of the towers. He let out a frustrated yell and his halo released a beam in a 360-degree circle around him that caused the legs of the tower to crumble underneath its own weight. The legs gave a sickening crunch sound and the tower shacking and falling, in the direction of the evacuated houses, caused me to lose balance. Before I had a chance to even try to help myself avoid landing on the ground, Chat had caught me as he had used his baton to come up to m level.

"So, what's the plan now bug-a-boo?" He asked with a wiggle of his brows.

"Let's find out." I said as I called for my lucky charm. It had ended up being a baseball bat.

"Well that's useful…" Chat mumbled as he sat us back onto the ground. Normally he was supportive, but I could understand why he was skeptical about this one. Bats are used for hitting things close you but when you can't get too close to an enemy because they can shoot beams at you it's hard to get too close. Looking around I saw the Betrayed's legs, Chat's baton, his belt, the bat, and my reflection in a nearby puddle light up in a familiar red and black pattern.

"Okay Chat. Here's what we are going to do…" I whispered the plan in his ear and he made a flirtatious joke in my ear about how if I wanted him close that all I had to do was ask. He chuckled when I made a "shoo" motion towards him. He called for the attention of the Akuma, undid his belt, then ran towards the Akuma. He then used his staff to flip himself over the Akuma's head and whipped him with the belt as he did this. When Chat had landed the Akuma then shot a beam at the hero, who easily dodged it, and yelled out in frustration. He hadn't seen me coming, I prepped the bat with a test swing as he fired the beam at my partner then I ran at he as he had readied anther beam. I was just about to hit the halo right off of his head when a loud pop sounded through the nearly empty tourist attraction. Just as the Bat was about to connect with the halo my arm was pushed back roughly and felt like it was on fire.

Looking to the source of the noise I saw Randy's wife Sara. Sara normally was a beautiful and sophisticated woman. She'd wear silk button up blouses, her hair in a bun, studs in her ears, and a long black skirt that went just below her knees that was slightly skin tight. That wasn't the case now though. Sara looked disheveled. Her hair was messy, her blouse was buttoned incorrectly, her eyes were hollow and lack and reflections of light, a halo rested above her head, and… Pointed directly at me…

…She held a freshly fired gun in her hands.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone. I am so sorry for the delay. There is a lot of drama this holiday season. Long story short is my family is rent-to-owning a house and the man we are trying to buy the house from has made it a little messy. We pay the rent, the mortgage, and the insurance on time. We weren't given a choice of what companies to use for our rates. Turns out the two garages on the property, the concrete they are on, and the fences were not done to code or inspected at all and that this house isn't zoned residential at all but is completely commercial. This place is also not supposed to be rented or sold because he has a VA loan on this house. The roof had to be redone even though it was advertised as new and has a lifetime expectancy of 25 more years. It was covered by the insurance but he charged us out of pocket for it. And if that isn't bad enough as it is, it gets worse. He decided to go against the contract we had agreed to and is saying we haven't paid any of the rent and should be paying nearly $500 more than any of the houses and companies in the area. Soooooooooo... Yeah. Fun Fun. Well here's chapter 5 please enjoy and forgive me for all the delays.

...

My arm was on fire and I couldn't help but let out a scream. As quickly as I bit my tongue and held back the scream as the Betrayed quickly turned around and fired a ray right for me. I quickly tumbled out of the way and the ray just barely missed me and I shouted out to Chat.

"Now!"

Another loud pop was heard, so I swung the bat and blocked the bullet that was heading right towards Chat and I who were in arms reach of the Betrayed.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat grabbed the halo and it disintegrated leaving behind the eggplant purple butterfly. I quickly cleansed the Akuma and allowed the butterfly to return to Hawkmoth to show he once again failed. I returned everything to how it once was but was unable to fix the gunshot that went through my arm. Chat was healed from his injuries from the battle but still looked exhausted.

"M'lady-"

"Go home Chat I'm fine. Get your sleep. I'll see you tomorrow during patrol." With that I quickly swung away. My injured arm was limp and still bleeding, and I was worn out. Chat didn't say another word or if he did they fell on my deaf ears as I focused on getting myself home. It was already sunrise and I needed to get prepared for school. I hadn't made it home when I got transformed. I was five rooftops away, so I gave Tikki a macaroon I had in my purse I had grabbed just before the battle. When she was fueled up we transformed once again and entered my room with a moderate amount of ease. My arm was bleeding but not enough for me to really need medical attention, so I took care of it myself. By the time I finished my parents were already calling for me to come down or I'd be late for school. I threw my clothes on as fast as I could for school, grabbed a handful of my candies for myself to take to school for me and then grabbed the bag I had set aside for Adrian because he had liked them as well. After I hugged my parents on my way out, careful to not have my injured arm touch them, I ran to school with a tart in my hand. I entered the classroom and saw that Chloe and Sabrina weren't in yet so when I got to my seat I turned around and greeted Nino. Adrien had been sleeping, so I lowered my voice since I didn't want to wake him. Unfortunately for me my dominant hand was injured, so I was having issues as I prepared for class. Nino noticed immediately.

"Marinette are you good?" He asked as I grabbed d my upper arm to try to massage my arm just above the elbow to try to sooth the pain.

"Oh yeah I'm fine. I had a long night last night" I laughed trying to mask my pain. I shot him a smile and turned to face the board as I got things out of my bag. From behind me I heard a shuffle and a yawn. This was followed by a rustling of paper and the light sound of pencil on paper.

"Marinette I learned a new pressure point from my Chinese teacher." I heard Adrien's soothing but tired voice say to me now awake though he previously had been asleep. "I can help you out if you're alright with it. I can ease the muscles for you a bit as well." I looked back at him to see if I was dreaming Adrian was now awake while Nino was erasing the paper in front of him frantically.

"Let my bro do it Mari. Not like it could do any harm." Nino said after I had rambled a few strings of unintelligible sentence fragments. I complied and sat as far back in my seat as Adrian had instructed me to. His fingers then began to rub my shoulders and sooth the knots that have formed over the years were being worked out. I relaxed enough to enjoy the feeling of his hands massaging my shoulders. I was too tired to even voice how nervous I was and I began to fall asleep. That is until I was woken up by the searing pain in my arm as Alya had shown up and slammed her hand on my upper arm. We still had about ten minutes till class was supposed to begin but the small number of students in the class were surprised by my pained scream at the touch I was unprepared for.

"Girl! Are you alright?" Alya asked as she released my arm. "Did you fall asleep at your desk working on a project again?" She asked with a laugh. I shook my head and quickly thought of a little lie to hide my identity without underestimating my wound.

"That akuma last night. I was hit by his beam from my roof and the next thing I knew I was across from the Eiffel Tower looking at the other victims, and I was injured." I made it sound as truthful as I could. "Unfortunately it didn't go away with the other damages from the battle." I said as I rubbed the back of my head with my uninjured arm. Alya demanded to see it but I told her it wasn't that bad and that I would go to the nurse to get it dressed properly. That wasn't enough for her, so when she repeated her demand, I let her handle my arm. This time she was gentle and eased my jacket sleeve off of my arm and then raised my shirts sleeve so she could get a good look at the wound.

"Marinette!"

"Dude!"

The Alya and Nino said at the same time and was followed by a gasp from Adrien who muttered a surprised 'what'.

"Girl that looks bad." Alya said then added. "It goes through your arm. You really don't remember what happened?" I shook my head hesitantly. "Let or teacher know I'm taking Mari to the nurse." Alya said as she quickly stood from her seat. She took my jacket off of my other arm but pulled my sleeve back down over the bandaging that had blood soaking the bandages on the front and back of it. The wound was fairly small but bled a surprising amount. I was barely able to understand what was going on because I was half asleep and practically falling asleep as I tried to follow her words. I guess at one point she told me to go with her but I hadn't heard her. Me not responding or moving when she began to walk made her come back and wrap her arm around my waist to help support me as we walked to the nurse's office. The feeling of slowly slipping in and out of consciousness was one I was not a fan of but a moment of clarity had come when we had run into Madame Bustier.

"Ladies, is everything okay? Why aren't you in the classroom yet?" She asked. She took a closer look at me then placed a hand to my forehead. "Oh dear! You feel warm."

"I'm taking her to nurse's office. Mari isn't feeling well." Alya said as she shifted my weight as I began to slip from her grasp a tad bit.

"Wait here. I'll have someone come help you out." Madame Bustier said as she scurried to the classroom that was down the hall from us. The hall was a blur and everything sounded distant. Soon enough I felt myself get lighter as whoever our teacher had sent to help must have arrived. The feeling of being engulfed in warmth took me over, which was in contrast to a cold hand that touched my cheek, as I was held bridal style. Alya was talking to someone but I couldn't tell who it was. I could vaguely feel the tickle of Tikki's antennas on my mid back just below the arm that was settled under my shoulder blades. She must have jumped under my shirt when Alya had taken the jacket off of my injured arm. Soon I smelt the antiseptic used to sterilize the nurse's office. Tikki quickly flew towards the arm no one would be paying attention to. I felt heavy once again as I laid there on what I could assume was one of the beds in the infirmary. A cold clammy feeling was suddenly on my forehead as I felt like I was trapped in a pool full of jello.

I heard the echoes of voices. I felt the pressure of hands holding my shoulders by my neck and at my wrists. Then it all went black. When I came to, I was in my room at the bakery my parents owned and it was late afternoon and was almost sunset. I was sore. I was hungry. Most of all I was thirsty.

"T-Tikki" My voice came out dry and raspy. "Tikki?" I called out more confidently. My voice reached her as she called out my name and flew to my cheek.

"Marinette!" She called as she hugged up to my cheek. "Are you okay? I was so worried." Small tears had run down her cheeks but I reached up shakily with my better arm and wiped them away.

"I'm sorry. I'm alright really. I can handle this." I comforted her and embraced her lightly so that I didn't crush her but to show her I was fine. Before I could say anything else I heard the trap door open and footsteps coming up so Tikki flew to hide under the bed as she often did. In came Adrian who was clad in his usual outfit, and he had his bag with him.

"H-Hi!" I uttered as my voice came out still raspy from my dry throat. My arm was extremely sore but I felt it would have been rude to lay down while he was in the room. He climbed up the ladder and stood by my bed and helped me sit up causing me to blush.

"Hey how are you feeling?" He asked. He looked so worried it made me feel bad. I could only imagine how bad everyone else was worrying to. Especially my parents. He reached into his bag and brought out a water bottle and handed it to me after having opened the lid for me. I reached out with my arm to grab the bottle but forgot my sore arm was injured momentarily. When he saw this he sat down on the edge of the bed and helped me hold the bottle even though I had ended up reaching for the bottle with my other hand. I had a decent grasp of the bottle, but he still helped me bring the bottle to my lips so I could drink the water.

"Thank you. I'm feeling better now. I'm sorry about this morning I hope I didn't worry everyone too much." I said as I lowered my head to hide the blush that was still covering my cheeks.

"I-"

"I-"

We both began at the same time.

"Oh-"

"Oh-"

We did it again.

"Go ahead Marinette. You go first." Adrien said with a breathtaking smile on his face.

"No you go first." I said in return. I felt bad enough for having worried him already but felt worse for having interrupted him when he was about to talk.

"I insist go ahead Marinette. I can wait." He is such a sweetheart and is caring like this. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve his kindness because of how much I have to lie to him, Alya, and Nino to hide my secret identity.

"I- I- Wondering- I mean. I was wondering… um… Why are you here? Don't you have a shoot today?" I asked then raised the water bottle up to my lips again. I drank the water slowly. Reveling in the feel of the liquid in my throat.

"I did, but I was worried about you, so I called Natalie and had it rescheduled. Father is out of town, so I have a little more ease with how I spend my time." He answered as he helped support my arm as I was still weak. His eyes looking so tired reminded me that I had not been able to give him the bag of candies I had allocated for him. I glanced around and wasn't able to see my bag.

"Have you seen my bag?" I asked him having given up on looking with just my eyes. I was still dizzy so it wasn't going to be a good idea to walk around just yet to find it. He nodded.

"Yeah when we carried you in earlier we had set it on your desk below. Let me go grab it for you." He said with a dazzling smile. When he set the bag in my lap, he sat back down next to me. I scooted over in the bed to give him more room so that he wasn't just sitting on like three inches of the bed. At first, he looked confused. Then hurt till I patted on the bed next to me, and he came closer. My cheeks were blazing and even his cheeks had a light blush. Had I crossed the line? Did I make him uncomfortable?

"I hadn't had the chance to hand these to you earlier." I said as I handed him the baggy of candies. That's when it hit me. "Wait! Carried me in?"

...

If you have any comments or suggestions please let me know. If it seems too jerky or unorganized feel free to let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, Hello. Here is the next update to my Miraculous Ladybug story. Please enjoy.

...

My brain was overloaded. The idea of Adrien carrying me led me straight into lala land as I imagined him carrying me princess style into happily ever after. I shook my head when I saw a confused look on his face.

"I'm sorry I must have been so heavy." I muttered looking down to hide my blush. He let out a laugh.

"Not at all. You were actually very light. If I hadn't known it was you I'd have thought I was carrying a puppy or a kitten." Adrien said just increasing how kind I thought he was. He was sweet. "Or a hamster…" I thought I heard him mumbled. I flushed even more at the thought since I have fantasized multiple times of me and him having a cat, dog, and a hamster.

"What were you going to say before?" I asked ending the awkward silence that had enveloped the room around us. I knew it wasn't going to be the question I really wish he would ask me, but can't blame a girl for dreaming.

"How-"

"Adrien how- Oh you're awake. Girl you gave us a scare. Are you ok?" Alya said as she rushed to me and checked my temperature with the back of her hand and then quickly checked on the bandaging around the wound on my arm.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Was all I could get in before she began telling me how she and Adrien had gotten me here. It apparently took them a while to get me up the steps to my bed because my parents had been in the middle of a busy workload. She had brought a bag of medicine and wraps for my wound and any ointments she felt would benefit me.

"You should have told me sooner Mari I'd have come over and helped you. "Did ladybug help you get back home?" She made my cover story up for me.

"Yes. She brought me home. I'm sorry for not telling you. I didn't want to worry you. I thought I had taken care of it." I said the words a smoothly as I could. Not long after Adrien had left when he heard the honk of his ride down stairs. Alya had told me how the nurse and my parents had agreed that a few days off from school would be good for me. She left not long after as she got prepared for a date she had with Nino as she had told me as she left. When I was alone with Tikki we came to the agreement that I would meditate to collect more energy to complete the seal my aunt gave me. All girls had one and spent years collecting enough energy to complete it by their 22nd year. Mine was nearly done. I could have it complete by the time the spring festival was finished. The festival was to take place in less than a month. If I fit enough training in before they got here I'd be able to get it done before then. I sat myself down comfortably, cross legged on my bed and began to meditate when I was sure no one would bother me. My arm was still sore but I eventually no longer felt it as everything around me melted away.

…

P.O.V. change

Adrien sat in his room in front of the computer. His head was lying on the wood as he waited for Master Fuu to arrive. Chinese lessons still went on even though Adrien was nearly fluent. He kept thinking of how Marinette was injured and couldn't help but want to take responsibility.

'How did I not see her standing in the area to have been shot by the very same bullet that had hit Ladybug as well? Why hadn't I been able to keep them both from being shot? What was wrong with Ladybug's abilities for her to be unable to repair all the damages?' A knock on the door broke him from his thoughts as he told whom ever was at the door to come in. It was Natalie, of course, leading Master Fuu into the room. She left as soon as he had entered.

"Master Fuu it's great to see you." Adrien said as he stood and bowed to the older male. This earned a laugh from Fuu as he saw through the mask Adrien was wearing.

"What's bothering you?" Fuu asked as he in sat the chair Adrien had in the room for when they were having lessons.

" One of my friends in class was injured by the Akuma last night and it didn't get reversed when the Akuma was taken care of." Adrien said. His face fell to a frown. Fuu raised an eyebrow.

"What's your friends name?" He asked the boy who was worried about his friend.

"Her name's Marinette… She's special." Adrien's face softened abit. "She's one of my bests friends." He added not even realizing the last half of his first sentence had came out as it had.

"Hm," Fuu hummed as he grabbed his beard in his free had while the other held his cane. "I'll see what I can do." Adrien knew Fuu was capable of many things so he trusted him with all his whole being.

The Two then got on with their lessons. At the end Plagg, who had been sleeping had decided it was time to tell the two what he and Tikki had spoken about days before. First he had begged for an extra stinky piece of camembert because he was exhausted from the boring lesson he had been forced to endure. He propped himself on Adrien's shoulder as he spoke to the two.

"So I spoke with Ladybug's qwami and it seems... we might have a problem." He paused as he swallowed the last piece of the cheese as if he expected someone to try and take the cheese from him. "Ladybug was, but wasn't, akumatized." Adrien, who was drinking from his glass of water, nearly did a spit take upon hearing Plagg admit the concerning piece of information.

"What do you mean 'was, but wasn't' akumatized?" Fuu asked as he clutched the tip of his cane.

"Tikki said that the butterfly infected ladybug's earrings. She went through the connection to Hawkmoth but was able to fight it but the butterfly never left. It's still there." Plagg said as he looked like he was about to go back to sleep. Initially he had been shocked when Tikki told him what happened but she had ensured him that it'd take more than a mere butterfly to make Mari follow Hawkmoth's orders.

"That's very concerning." Master Fuu's raspy voice conveyed his concern for the young woman. Fuu couldn't help but wonder why he had yet to be paid a visit by said girl. He knew she was strong but something like this is something that cannot be handled on one's own. People, no matter how strong they are, will eventually need help. Fuu pulls out his phone, it was an out of date flip phone, and sends out a message to Marinette asking if she was free to pay a visit later on.

" Master who are you messaging?" Wayzz asked from where he sat by Adrien's computer. Adrien had been trying to decide if he should withhold cheese from Plagg for the foreseeable future for not informing him of what Tikki had told him. He stopped this when he heard Wayzz speak up. Adrien's ears perked.

"I'm messaging Ladybug for a meeting." Fuu answered simply. He received a message from said recipient nearly a minute later. "Good, good." He mumbled. "I will be having a meeting with her so I can do a few tests to see what the akuma may have done. Her training with the Priestesses has already affected her ability to use the miraculous to its fullest hopefully we can handle this quickly.

Their meeting ended as the time they had for their lesson had passed. Natalie came to escort Master Fuu out so that Adrien could prepare for a photo shoot that was being held just on the outskirts of Paris. Fuu returned to his shop after having picked up some herbs along the way. When no one was around to hear, he'd speak to Wayzz and see what his opinion was on the whole situation. Their walk wasn't to long since the car that was ordered to bring drop him off had dropped him at the farmer's market which was being held in the same plaza as the herb shop he frequented. Both of which resided two blocks from his own shop. He had arrived at the same time as a very exhausted and out of breath Marinette had ran up to his door.

"Ah Marinette you're early." He said as he unlocked the door and motioned for her to enter before him.

"I know it's just I didn't want to be late because I also have some very important things I need to speak to you about." Marinette replied as her Kwami and Fuu's came out of hiding and sat by their respective masters. Fuu had placed a kettle on the stove and brought out a cookie for Tikki. He knew their talk would take them a while and that it was going to be more of a problem than he had originally believe it would be. He could feel the disruption in her energies that was caused by the akuma butterfly. Marinette came forward and let him know about the akuma and told him about her aunt and a few of the other shrine maidens who were coming for the spring festival that had been started two years prior to celebrate Ladybug and Chat Noir. She even told him about having been shot during the battle. Fuu told her he had spoken with Chat about her having almost akumatized and that's how he had found out before she told him and that he had been hoping that it would have been an easy fix. Unfortunately that was not the case because the akuma had already merged itself with the earing. Fortunately it had not merged with her miraculous underneath it. After a close call with TroubleMaker, when she nearly took her miraculous, Marinette began working on a cover for her miraculous so that her earrings could not be taken as easily. With the help of Tikki, Marinette was able to make them transfer over to her uniform as well. They looked like she was only wearing her earrings during the day and when transformed they looked like her ladybug earrings. Their talk went on for three hours and they tried to extract the akuma by breaking the cover but it didn't would not break. The case would gain a dark purple hue when stuck with whatever they tried to break it with and it was stuck to Marinette. She could take it off her ear but it stuck to her. If she tried to drop it, it'd stay connected to her like magic. She could roll it, she could twist it, could put it back on her earring, but couldn't set it down and leaving it laying anywhere. Master Fuu had tried to take it out of her hand but it would not budge. Even Tikki tried kicking it off Mari's finger tip but she'd have had better luck kicking a sac of bricks. By the end of the evening the two humans and their kwamis were tired and had all finished their cups of tea before Marinette had left with a herbal concoction that Fuu had made her to help relieve the pain from the gunshot in her arm. Mari and Tikki had transformed once again to get home before her parents came up to check on her after having most likely gotten back after a trip to the supermarket for more ingredients. When she returned and had entered her room and de-transformed she heard her parents enter down stairs and call up to her.

"Yes mom? Yes dad?" She answered as she tucked the herbs in her draw and laid back on her bed exhausted and curled up under her blankets once again. They were warm and comforting as she thought of how much she missed just being able to sleep under them for a full night's sleep.

"Have you eaten yet?" Her mother asked as she stood at the counter in the front while her husband put away the groceries they had just purchased.

"Not yet." She answered truthfully. While at Fuu's she had not eaten but Tikki had.

"Why don't you come down and join us. We are about to eat." Her mother called back up the stairs. When Marinette called down saying she was coming her mother had offered to help but Marinette said she was able to do it herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Here's chapter 7. Please enjoy.

...

"Hey aunt Fei-Hung." I greeted my aunt sleepily as I picked up the phone on the 3rd ring. I sat on my bed with my legs crossed and Tikki in my lap.

"I will be needing you help when I come into town for the cultural event that will be occurring as school ends for you this year. You won't have to come to the temple this summer because I will be in town to complete your training." Aunt Fei-Hung said cutting straight to the point.

"Yes ma'am." I replied. "So what exactly will you be needing my help with?" The idea that I wouldn't be needing to go to China this summer is great but what is the help she needs from me.

"The Mayor okayed us having a tent at the cultural festival so me and a few of the girls will be coming down and you will be there with us. We will have a smaller summer Miao Hui there while the other stay here and prepare for the one at our temple." The Miao Hui is a temple festival that lasts for one weeks. The Chen temple celebrates by telling the stories of the deities that our shrine houses and worships through dance, song, and prayers. But why does aunt Fei-Hung want to do one of the festivals outside of the temple when she was always such a stickler for tradition and rules.

"Is there anything you need me to get prepared for the show?" I asked. Knowing my aunt she has a list of everything she needs and wants the list followed to the tee.

"Come down stairs and accompany me to the store and the hotel I'm staying at."

"Downstairs? You're already in town? And here?" I asked waking the sleeping Kwami in my lap.I readjusted my sling and let Tikki fly into it behind the back of my arm. I slipped my wallet into my pocket and then told my aunt that I'd be down in a moment. I carefully climbed down the ladder. I passed my mom and dad and let then know I was going to help aunt Fei-Hung and that she was in town for the cultural festival...That's when it hit me. Classes end next week and then the Cultural festival begins the next day. School is gonna be over soon… I had three goals set for my time in school. The first was to defeat Hawkmoth, the second was to get an internship under Gabriel Agreste, and the third was to confess my feelings to Adrien. I've only accomplished getting the internship but the other two I seem to be nowhere close to achieving them.

"What we are going to do is go pick up the materials we need and drop them in my room. While at the room we will need to discuss your ascension."Said a greatly distinct voice. Standing outside, beside the front door, was my aunt. She wore her shrine garbs as she tended to do no matter where she was going or what she was doing. We went and grabbed what she needed, which was enough to cover from my elbow to my wrist and three held in my hand. When we arrived at the hotel she was staying at, I was happy to see that it was not at the Mayor's hotel. The hotel was breath-taking to say the least. Eggshell and silver was accented by delicate shades of gold. "The Mayor payed for my lodging here." My aunt said as she led me past the front desk which was right next to the front door straight to the elevator. "His hotel hadn't had any available rooms and since he personally invited me he said it was his responsibility. He's a kind man but a push over. Any woman in his life probably take advantage of him. What a shame."

"They really do." I let slip under my breath. It's been a long day for me. I did my morning stretches and then went to work on the last of my home work for the week. From there I patrolled the city as Ladybug, did not run into Chat while doing so, then when I got back home I worked on a few of my projects then began my meditation which ended early by my aunt's phone call. The past week there were a surprisingly low number of akuma attacks. Actually, that's still an over statement. There were no akuma attacks at all. This was weird even compared to when I first began fighting Hawkmoth because there never went a week without at least 3 akuma attacks. We got to her room and it was huge. It was about the size of the first floor of my parent's house. The comparison was only for the living room of her place. I don't know how big the rest of the place is because all the doors were shut and she was never one to share without it being necessary.

"What happened to your arm?" She cuts right to the chase after shutting the door behind us. I was the one carrying all the bags and I'm fairly certain she noticed the sling before I even opened the door back at the bakery. She had her ways of being able to sense things without needing to expand her essence like she taught me and the rest of the priestesses in training.

"During an akuma attack one of the citizens got hypnotized and I got shot by one of the guns she had gotten a hold of." I said as I unbagged everything and organized everything on the table next to the kitchen area.

"And why's it not healed up? You used Miraculous Ladybug right?" My aunt asked motioning for me to join her in the living room and sit on the couch next to her.

"Yes but my essence keeps getting in the way of the Miraculous. By the time I go to fix everything energy is so low that I can barely keep up my transformation." I told her. I knew it was supposed to have gone away as I did my meditations but no matter how much I expand and store my essence it's never enough.

"What else is going on?" She asked with her arms folded across her chest.

"The akuma battles occurred multiple times a day and would make it so that sleeping at night is practically impossible. Any hour of the night is fair game for an akuma attack." I missed out on a lot because of this. I really wanted to go to that party last week but sadly I had to battle an akuma once again. My parents have grounded me multiple times from these battles after effects. My grades had gone down. And my relationships with my friends have gone down to the point where, though we were on the best of terms, we don't hang out as much as we used to. I've pretty much became a recluse because I practically only go out when it is time to go to school or when there was an akuma to dispose of.

"Interesting. Have you been able to find clues as to the change?" My aunt asked. She leaned back on the couch and pulled her one leg onto her knee. Even in such a relaxed position she still looked elegant and professional. She never really smiles either, I rarely see a small smile creep onto her face, but then it is almost immediately gone.

"None yet. Mayura doesn't appear too often anymore and the akumas seem to become more powerful after each battle. Based on when Mayura does attack we know she is aware of who Hawkmoth is behind the mask. If only there was a way to turn her against him." If we could turn her so she was on our side we'd not only have another miraculous but we'd also know the identity of Hawkmoth and would finally be able to defeat him. What will we do once we defeat him. Would we have to part with our miraculouses? Would that mean Tikki would have to go back in her box and be dormant until she is needed again?

"If she knows him in her everyday life and is loyal to him while he's doing what he is then it is highly unlikely that she would betray him. Why not just take her prisoner and force her to detransform by taking her miraculous. From there it'd be easier to find out his identity." I've never thought of abducting someone. I hardly think that'd I'd be able to carry out a plan that would end with me forcing someone to give up those they love. Besides what if they decide to not even tell me who they are. What would I do then? Would I be expected to force her with violence? I don't think I'd be strong enough to go through with that. Would Chat Noir even approve of such a plan? Why am I even considering such a horrible idea.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. We are supposed to be the good guys." I said as calmly as I could. Such a suggestion was making me angry. We are supposed to be better than them and yet she expects us to sink to their level.

"There are no such thing as good and bad people. There are only the selfish and the selfless." My aunt said as she squinted her eyes in only what I could think was disappointment. I don't really care about what she thinks of me. She hasn't given me a reason to and holds no position in my everyday life. "By now, you of all people should know that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I was getting upset. I didn't like the tone in her voice.

"Everyone believes they are doing a 'Good' thing. To each person, their actions are for the good. For the good of themselves and for the good of others. Nobody really sees themselves as 'Bad'. They may say it out loud that they are but they never actually see themselves as bad. They acknowledge that others view them as bad." She stood up and walked into one of the rooms then came back with a stack of manilla folders. She tossed them down on the table in front of me. "Take a look at every single one of these cases. All of these contain the names and family members of citizens who lost family members or loved ones in the week before Hawkmoth families all would benefit from using the combined powers of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses. If you were in their position, say your mother or father were ripped away from you suddenly and for good, wouldn't you too try to bring them back if you knew of a way to do it?"

"I'd do anything for my parents. I wouldn't let anything happen to them." I spat out. The thought of anything happening to my parents made my chest hurt. I couldn't fight the need to place my hand over where my heart was. The room was getting stifling. This conversation was too heavy for me.

"Then you see what I'm saying." She replied as her body relaxed.

"There's no excuse and I would never let something happen to them."

"You"re a fool. What if you were busy in a battle and someone broke into the bakery. Holds a gun to their heads… And fires?" She leaned forward and whispered in my ear.

"That wouldn't happen." My voice was beginning to raise.

"What if they are walking down the street and they get stabbed by a mugger?"

"Why are you saying these things?" I gripped my hands into fists and tried to steady my breath.

"If they are cooking while you are at school and died in a fire."

"ENOUGH!" I shouted. I stood to my feet ready to run out the apartment when I felt a familiar sensitive take me over.

'Well we meet again child. Your anger is great." The melodic and familiar voice entered my ears. 'I could give you the power to protect those you love from everything and everyone. I would just need your assistance in return.' He offered me a solution to my current fears brought on by my aunt.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's chapter eight please enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think.

...

Marinette was panting and gasping by the time she had successfully fought off Hawkmoth's attempt at akumatizing her. Her aunt looked on unsurprised. She had known there was more going on so she needed to bait the girl. But she hadn't said anything, she didn't believe to be true. Once Marinette's emotions were raw enough that's when everything became clear. Her soul was being tainted by an outside source. It wasn't until soon after that she saw what that source was.

"How many times has this happened?" Fei-Hung asked as she escorted Marinette back to the couch and went and grabbed a gel ice pack.

"This is the third time. I can't take off the shells I've placed on my miraculous because the akumas are still trapped in them. They end up sticking to me." Marinette answered as she placed the ice pack her aunt was handing her on her neck to help cool herself back down. Without responding to Marinette, Fei-Hung pulled out her cellphone and made a call.

"Bring the girls here first thing in the morning." Fei-Hung said then went and dialed another number. This number didn't get picked up as fast as the first but Marinette knew who it was as soon as Fei-Hung's call was answered. "It's late so Marinette will stay the night with me. I will have her back first thing in the morning" This was followed by a pause that lasted for a few seconds. "Of course. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you." Her phone call ended there. "I will set up some tea then training will begin."

…

Fei-Hung had Marinette change into a spare set of Shrine garments she then had her sit cross legged in the center of the room. Tikki sat in Marinette's lap as she slipped into a meditative state with the assistance of the tea her aunt brewed. As she controlled her breathing, seconds began to slow to the point where they all together stopped. Or at least seemed to stop. Marinette sat and focused. As her breathing became even and rhythmic she began to focus on the energy flowing inside her. The first time she felt the energy was when she first transformed with Tikki. It was a warm fluid like sensation that washed over her as if she were jumping into a pool. It left a pleasant tingle sensation that lasted till she would detransform and would leave her feeling empty afterwards. As her training progressed she could feel the energy flowing in her at all times if she focused and it became more and more prominent. At this point she felt it slowly building in pressure inside her.

Fei-Hung had instructed her before this session to make her energy expand and relax at a steady rate and slowly make it's resting state larger than it previously had been. Marinette expanded her energy with two of her heart's beats and then would increase it's resting size. She repeated this through the night until her aunt sent a ripple of her own energy out. This broke the trance like state Marinette was in and revealed the room, that had once resembled a normal looking suite, now had six new occupants and had been made ready for a ritual. Candles and incense were placed around me and the girls were around me as well. Four of the girls were dressed in their shrine uniforms and were standing in the positions of the compass. Behind the girl representing the East was a girl who was bowed with her nose almost touching the ground and behind the girl symbolizing the West was another who was in a similar position except she was sitting up but had her eyes closed as well.

"Light the four candles." Fei-Hung said notioning to the four white candles that sat in front of her. Not seeing a lighter or matches in front of her Marinette assumed she was meant to light the candles using her energy and not flames. She wanted to ask what was going on but her aunt's face was stern. After cupping her hands around each wick and focusing on imagining a flame on each. Uncupping her hands revealed a bluish silver, and she would move on to the next one. When all three were lit she looked up at Fei-Hung who nodded at each of the girls who represented the four corners of the earth. "Return the candles to the four corners. The north wind," She motioned to the girl who stood in front of her and proceeded once Marinette returned to her spot. "The east winds where the sun rises," When the candle was placed in the hands of the representative of the east, Fei-Hung sent a pulse of her energy out, and the representative of the sun rose to the sitting position the moon's had. "The south wind." Marinette felt something begin to rise in her chest it was a deep feeling that felt like the wind before a strong storm. "The west winds where the sun sets giving the night it's chance at control." The representative behind the west's sank into a deep bow as Fei-Hung sent out another burst of energy as the light from the sun rising came through the window. "The sun may not always rise but you must now rise and take your place."

Her words were followed by another pulse of energy but it was not her's. Marinette's energy sent out a pulse and she had crumbled to the ground as images and words flew through her mind.

'What is this doing here?' Marinette heard herself ask as she saw a Quick flash of her room.

'Who are you?' An angry man's voice yelled in her ears as she saw her hands covered in cuts and blood.

'Don't worry you'll be alright.' Chat Noir's voice echoed through her ears as an image of the view of the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower flashed through her mind.

'Please pick up…' A scared sounding Marinette mumbled accompanied by the image of her dialing Master Fu.

Screams echoed as she saw her classmates running out the door of a house.

'Your precious Ladybug won't save you anymore,' A woman's voice said followed by the sound of glass breaking. The image of a wine glass falling had accompanied the voice.

Marinette came to, panting on the floor for the second time in the last 24 hours. Her aunts eyes looked deep and angry. The anger was quickly replaced by determination.

"You can now take you place as one of the sisters of our clan. Your destiny is set as a Miraculous holder and the heir to the position of the Maiden's Tears."

That's when it struck Marinette. This was the ascension ritual, was what she saw and heard because she didn't have enough energy stored. The two girls who weren't standing now stood.

"Welcome." The girls surrounding her bowed at their waists and said in unison.

Fei-Hung cooked as the girls cleaned, fed the girls, and then had dismissed them.

"I thought I wasn't ready for the ritual. What's going on? What were those things I saw?" Marinette asked once they were alone. Tikki had woken up from where she had laid herself halfway through Marinette's Meditation.

"You weren't ready. That's why you had needed to expand your energy in such an unorthodox method." Fei-Hung had said as she reached into one of the drawers in the room and grabbed a stack of journals she set them on the side table next to where Marinette stood stretching after having been sitting for so long. Her joints felt stiff and the bad feeling in her chest remained. "Begin memorizing these three journals. I will work on getting the other journals to you as you finish these. Your abilities were being limited by the drain on your energy by the akumas who have already merged with you. To stop them from affecting you Miraculous form as much we needed to shock the akumas." Marinette was confused. "Think of it like if someone gets heat stroke, or heat exhaustion, if you put them in cold water to quickly they can go into shock. They were feeding on you at a steady rate, but by putting you into a meditative state your energy overloaded it." Marinette understood that part before he explained it.

"But what about the images and the sounds? Did I not expand it enough?" Marinette clarified the origin of her confusion.

"No. You had more than enough by the time of the ritual. As for the images you speak of, it's not common but it's not unheard of. I had seen a few things during the ritual which confirms everything occured properly." Marinette stopped her stretches and picked up the journals her aunt had placed near her. "Those are to help with the transition from being in training to being a full fledged sister. Normally we'd have the other's go through an 18 month training to learn everything but I wrote down everything so that you don't have to come to the temple every summer." Marinette could tell there was a reason behind her not wanting Marinette at the shrine but she didn't see the need to question her because she didn't really mind not going. To be honest, she was happy to not need to go.

A call came through Fei-Hung's phone and it ended up being the Mayor. She escorted Marinette back to the bakery then left for the meeting she had with the mayor and the festival coordinators. When Marinette got home her parents were already prepping for the day and they told Marinette to go to sleep because she seemed tired. She slept till Alya had woken her at 2 in the afternoon. They left the bakery and hung out at the Alya's for a while till Nino called and invited the two to come hang and play video games. She joined them and played a few rounds but relinquished her controller to Alya and she fell asleep not realizing how tired she really was.

While she laid here sleeping on one of Nino's bean bags, the other two left the room after pausing their game to get drinks.

"I swear he is dense." Nino began. "How can he not see that she's into him?" Nino reached into a cabinet and grabbed three glasses.

"How can he not see that he's into her?" Alya interjected as she grabbed the fruit punch from the fridge.

"Right!" Nino said as he pulled out his phone. Shooting a text back to Adrien who had just finished his fencing practice. "I know he said he's in love with Ladybug, but he feels something for Mari too."

"I know! Have you seen how he looks at her when Luka is talking to her?"

"How can I not. His face is priceless. We should get those two together already."

"Let's!" Alya said and the two high fived and plotted. Nino sent a text and put their plan in motion. The two grabbed the drinks they prepared and went into the living room where Marinette was just waking back up after having heard the loud clap from the kitchen. "I'm sorry did we wake you?" Alya asked as she set a drink down beside Marinette.

"Yeah but it's all good. Sorry for falling asleep my aunt had me pull an all nighter to prepare for the festival." Marinette said as she stretched.

"Dang girl that must be tough." Alya said as she plopped down next to Nino.

"Why?" Nin asked.

"That's right, you haven't met her aunt. Marinette's aunt is a no nonsense woman. Games and hobbies are words not in her vocabulary." Alya remembered her meeting with the stern woman and shivered. Nino's face pled for her to elaborate.

"Alya tried showing her the Ladyblog and my aunt told her-"

"Such things are a waste of time. Only children waste their time with trivial matters and games." Marinnette and Alya quoted her aunt then laughed.

"Dude that's harsh." Nino said then took a swig of his drink. "The heroes risk themselves to protect the city and the citizens. It's only natural to support them in such a way. It's not childish." He reassured his girlfriend. Nino handed Marinette the remote control and had her play against Alya when the doorbell rang. With a knowing grin on both of their faces he went and got it.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone. I have chapter nine complete and ready for you all to read but before we get to it I have an announcement. I've been writing this shorty story series and I am looking for 5 to 10 proof readers. If you are interested please feel free to DM me. Please enjoy this chapter and the many to come.

...

The plan had failed to say the least. When adrien arrived Alya and Nino forced a tag team match on the two and put them on a team together. To say they made a god team would be an understatement. They won time and time again until Marinette and Adrien reached for their drinks at the same time and Marinette freaked out at the touch. This led to them losing their current match. She ended up spilling her drink all over herself, Adrien, and her remote control as well.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry." Marinette stumbled as she looked at his wet clothes. Then at the t.v. as the announcer for the game signaled their defeat. She hung her head at the narrator's words. "I'm so sorry…" She mumbled. She twiddled with her fingers and Adrien laughed it off.

"It's fine Marinette." Adrien answered flashing Marinette a big smile.

"Yeah dudette. We can wash the clothes in the washer. I got clothes you two can wear until they are clean." Nino gave the two a change of clothes each. "Here dudes. One of you can you my room and the other can use the bathroom." He said.

"Thanks, you're the best." Adrien said holding the clothes Nino gave him.

"Sorry Nino." Marinette said as Nino handed her the other set of clothes. Marinette was about to put the clothes over her arm in the sling when Adrien reached out and grabbed them from her.

"Don't worry I'll carry them for you." Adrien said as his eyes glanced at her arm and felt a pang in his chest. Marinette thanked him after stumbling over her words. The two walked to the hallway and Marinette was prepared to change in the bathroom when Adrien, who was ahead of her, grabbed the handle of the bathroom and flashed a smile at Marinette.

"You go ahead and use the room. You may need the extra space." He referred to her injured arm. He felt guilty for her injury and thought about Ladybug and how she too was injured. Two of the women he cared for were injured and he could have changed that. He blamed himself for it and refused to ever let it happen again. He forced a smile to hide his guilt and handed her the shirt and shorts Nino was lending to her.

"Thanks Adrien!" Marinette said grinning brightly at him. She didn't stumble with her words and her smile made his heart jump to his throat and back in place. She turned to the door and was about to step in when Adrien asked her a question.

"Does it hurt?" His words revealed how he felt just a tad and it shocked Marinette. It hurt her hearing the hurt in his voice.

"It doesn't hurt as much a-anymore! I'm sorry for having… worried you." Marinette covered up how much it still hurt. It wasn't truly as bad as it had been but it was not too far. The pain was there and it would flare up at times and would be worse than it had been when it first happened. She felt he didn't need to be burdened with knowing the pain. She wanted to protect him from harm… physical and emotional. Marinette looked up and saw his face raise a little and they both walked into the rooms where they would be changing and shut the doors behind themselves. Marinette was just about to put on the shorts when she noticed the button on the shorts had been missing. They were tan cargo shorts that had belt loops so Marinette decided to pull her ribbons out of her hair and tied a knot connecting them. Before she was able to put them through the loops her phone began to ring in her purse. She laid the shorts down on the bed and grabbed her phone

"Aunt Fei-Hung, is something the matter?" Marinette asked picking up her aunt's call. When they had parted in the morning her aunt said she had meetings for the rest of the day. Marinette threaded the ribbons through the belt loops.

"There's a swell of tainted energy." Her aunt said in a hushed tone. "We will watch any attacks and assist you and any of the miraculous holders during our visit if you need us." Fei-hung disconnected the call and left Marinette confused. Marinette finished getting changed and as she walked out the room she tried to focus her energy to find the location of the swell.

"A swell of tainted energy…" she mumbled exiting the room with her wet clothes in her arms. She hadn't realized that Adrien was standing beside the door so she ended up walking right into him. He hadn't been sure what he had heard so he didn't ask about it. Instead he chuckled at how intently she had been looking at the clothes on her arm. Her hair was loose and flowed over her shoulders a little and down her back.

'Where'd her ribbons-' He glanced at the shorts she was wearing and immediately saw the red ribbons that were holding the shorts up. 'Nino must have forgotten.'

"Hey Marinette. We're twins!" Adrien joked as they both appeared to be wearing the same outfit.

"It s-seems that way." Marinette smiled with a blush. He's like a ray of sunshine. He always makes Marinette's mood brightens up when she sees him smile, no matter how badly she hurts or is tired. They stopped by the washing room and Marinette ended up putting the two sets of clothes on a small load and got them started because Adrien hadn't known how to do it himself. She forgot her nervousness momentarily as she showed him how but once he thanked her, she quickly felt it all again. When he placed his hand on her shoulder she blushed even brighter. The returned to the living room only for Alya to gush about the notification that had just came through on her phone. Alya decided to go chase the akuma and film the battle with her phone and Nino decided to watch over her and make sure she didn't get into too much trouble. He told the two they could stay there and the two of them both made excuses.

"I left my purse in the room!" Though it was on her person.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" Adrien said enthusiastically back and the two disappeared back into the rooms. Each of them transformed and left out the windows. Adrien's escape took longer as the window was fairly small. So by the time he got out he saw ladybug running on a rooftop two rows away from him. He quickly joined her. She could still feel the pain from her wound but it wasn't as severe since the magic coming off her uniform coated the wound and numbed it for the most part. She let her arm lay at her side and stopped when she heard the familiar voice calling out to her.

"Glad to see you kitty. Any clue where the akuma is?" Ladybug asked as he caught up she had waited for him to catch up to her.

"No M'lady but what I do know is you look pur~fect in this lighting." He flirted. "I see your uniform is back to normal." He added as they ran across the rooftop towards the honking of at least 5 cars that Ladybug could hear. Chat was able to hear that exactly 8 cars were honking with his heightened hearing.

"Let's go!" Ladybug said picking up speed. Chat followed behind her and smirked as he saw the smile that was on her face. Ladybug decided to send her energy out and was able to feel the exact location of the Akuma as she got closer, but this was only the case when she was within 5 blocks of the victim.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Yelled the akuma as it grabbed one of the honking cars and threw it down the road in the same direction as Ladybug and Chat were coming from. Ladybug threw her yo-yo and it wrapped around the car as Chat extended his baton so it went through the open windows of the car and held it in place as Ladybug and he got the people out of the car and onto the ground. They instructed the civilians to get to safety and to tell anyone they run into the same.

The akuma was three stories and had a metallic that looked much like a black and silver version of Optimus Prime except he didn't have any features that would make him memorable or special besides the wheel that was on the outside of his ankle. The akuma was quickly disposed of and the two fist bumped signalling their success. Ladybug was turning away but was quickly grabbed by the wrist.

"Cha-"

"Please M'lady neither of our timers are going off and I need to speak with you." Chat Noir interrupted Ladybug and held firmly on her wrist.

"Alright." Ladybug said without a fight. The look on his masked face made Ladybug take him seriously.

"Thank you M'lady." Chat said then pulled her into a hug since they were standing on a particularly tall building's roof and were out of sight from those on the ground. "Are you ok? Plagg told me about the akuma."

"I'm fine. I haven't been akumatized. I fought off Hawkmoth's influence but the akuma hasn't left. It's happened a few times but I'm assuming that since the item isn't technically in contact with me, and as long as it isn't, I will not be akumatized." Ladybug said . She didn't think his face would fall as much as it had. He was visibly distraught at the mention of her being akumatized. "Don't worry I am working with Master Fu to fix this so it won't continue. It will be fine." She said and placed her free hand on his shoulder.

"If it's not too personal, What's been happening to cause it?" Chat asked.

"I've been exhausted by the late night battles. They are causing an impact on my classes and my parents aren't happy about my grades and attendance going down. Plus I've been worrying about confessing because my best friend is very adamant about doing so."

"Confessing?" Chat repeated questioningly.

"What if he doesn't feel the same? If he rejects me then would the years have been wasted?" Ladybug's insecurity showed but she quickly shook it away and smiled. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry for having worried you." Ladybug said. Her words felt familiar to Chat but he couldn't place them. He let go of her wrist and pulled her into a tight hug. "Any guy would be a fool to reject you. You're amazing and selfless. You are the best woman in the world Bugaboo." Chat said and let her go. He was blushing fiercely. " We better get going. I gotta get back to my friends." Chat said.

"Me too. Don't want to blow my cover." Ladybug said. Just as she was about to swing to Nino's she looked at Chat and smiled. "Thanks Chat. You're the best partner I could ever dream of having.

…

By the time Marinette got back she had time to go fill her glass again and sit in her place when Adrien came back out into the living room.

"Hey sorry for taking so long. It turns out my wallet had fallen behind the sink and I just found it." Adrien said and sat down in his place beside Marinette.

"I… Uhm… I took a nap so there's no need to apologize." Marinette said taking a sip of her glass. She was glad that he wasn't aware that she had even left. They spent their time playing a few rounds, took a break for Marinette to put the clothes in the dryer, before they stopped for good when Alya and Nino came walking back in.

"Yo girl get ready we got to go get ready." Alya said as she came into the room with her arms across her chest when she saw that the two had just been playing the game.

"Bye A-Adrien." Marinette said and got up and followed Alya. "Bye Nino. Thanks for having me over." Marinette said as she followed Alya to the front door.

"See you later Nino." Alya said with a wink to her boyfriend and then dragged her friend out of the house. "Girl, did you do it?" Alya asked while they were a fair distance from Nino's. They were just a few houses down from Marinette's where they'd be grabbing her things for the slumber party they had planned weeks ahead of time.

"Alyaaaa." Marinette drew out in a whine. "Course I didn't I don't know where I'd even begin." Marinette said as she looked down at the ground in front of her. "What if he rejects me?" Marinette asked Alya who sighed.

"Girl, you'll never know until you ask him out. Even if you don't ask him out, there's no such thing as a rejection if your not asking anything. There's nothing wrong with telling him how you feel." Alya said as she put her arm around Marinette. "You don't have to ask him to accept your feelings. Start with telling him how you feel and you can leave afterwards if you get too nervous." Alya told her friend. Alya couldn't help but wonder why Marinette was so insecure when it came to Adrien. Her best friend is normally so outspoken and confident.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone. I have a slightly longer chapter for you all and hope you will enjoy it. I am still looking for reader for my book so if you are interested please feel free to message me for details or if you have questions about it.

...

"Alya!" Marinette laughed as her friend took her phone from her and began typing. "Please don't."

"Nope you lost the bet so you have to." Alya retorted then clicked send. She had sent a text to Adrien from Marinette's phone asking if he was still awake. It was 11:30 at night and and immediate response came. He was awake. "Here you go girl now talk to him." Alya tossed the phone into her friend's lap. The two were sitting on Alya's bed in there pajamas. Marinette in her custom Chat Noir tank and black and green flannel pants.

"He actually replied!" Marinette gushed then typed a response. Then deleted said response. "What do I say?" She asked her best friend who broke out laughing.

"Well what'd you type the first time?" Alya asked as she sent a text to Nino about what's happening.

"I asked what he's doing but I deleted it." Marinette mumbled. Her phone dinged indicating another message arrived. "Oh my god he asked what I'm doing?!" Marinette squealed. Marinette furiously typed something then deleted it again.

"Oh my god girl type something already." Alya said as she hit Marinette with a pillow. Marinette had dropped the phone when the pillow hit her and had accidentally hit send.

 **Nothing much, at Alya's.** Is what the message said and Marinette quickly typed and sent another. **What are you doing?** She sent so that she didn't seem inconsiderate.

"Finally!" Alya shouted. "Was that so hard girl?" Alya added with a laugh.

"You're right Alya!" Marinette said as she thought back to a conversation she once had with Chat.

" _Hey. Sorry for stopping by so late. You weren't sleeping were you?" He seemed nervous as he rambled a bit and brought his hand up in a 'hey' gesture._

" _I wasn't sleeping I was catching up on school work I missed." Marinette said as she got up on the platform. She stretched and turned towards Chat. "Is there something I can help you with?" Marinette asked as she stepped up to the rain and looked over the city. The wind was refreshing. There was a chill to it, signaling that winter was on it's way._

" _Kind of. I was wondering if I could get your advice about something." Chat said and took the spot next to Marinette._

" _Okay."_

" _If you were wanting to talk to someone about something personal how would you do it?" Chat asked as he peeked at her from the corner of his eye._

" _I guess I'd do it the same way I would confess." A distant look glazed over her eyes. "I'd go somewhere where both of us would be comfortable you know? The seine around sunset is fairly private. There are benches that are shaded by the trees. So it's comfortable and there's no expectations there. No passer bys watching so no one would feel rushed or forced to answer in any particular way." Marinette said as she looked out at the horizon. It's so calm and private that she wouldn't feel as nervous around Adrien, at least she hoped. They had never been there together. "Course, I can't even work up the courage to ask for him to go with me so it probably won't happen but maybe you'll have better luck than me." She turned and smiled at Chat it was one of pain. Not physical pain, but emotional pain stemmed from her disappointment in herself._

 _"Marinette you are an amazing person. A great friend. You should have more faith in yourself." He said as he brought her into a hug. "You are a wonderful person any guy would be lucky to be confessed to by you." Marinette's smile was less painful and she returned his hug. " You are the most caring and selfless person I've met. You are just as amazing as Ladybug… Possibly even greater than Ladybug…"_

 **Adrien: Sounds fun.**

 **Marinette: Yeah we just finished watching a movie and it got me thinking. Are you free around 6 on Saturday?**

Marinette exhaled not even realizing she had been holding her breath. Alya who was looking over her shoulder squealed.

 **Alya: You owe me 20 bucks.**

 **Nino: What'cha mean sweetheart?**

 **Alya: I got Marinette to text Adrien.**

 **Nino: That's only 5 bucks.**

 **Alya: And she asked him out!**

 **Alya: Which is 15 bucks.**

 **Alya: IE you owe me 20 bucks.**

Alya texted Nino and snapped a pic over Marinette's shoulder and sent the pic to Nino.

"You go girl!" Alya shouted and was about to walk out of the room when her mother cracked the door open.

"Ladies please quiet down a hair bit. The twins are sleeping."

"Yes mom.

"Yes mme Cesaire!" Marinette said as a fresh blush covered her face.

 **Adrien: After 5 I am free.**

 **Adrien: If you want, I can meet you at the Bakery at 5?**

Marinette covered her mouth so her squeal wouldn't be too loud and Alya laughed as she left to go fill up her cup.

 **Marinette: Sounds great. I need your help with finding a gift for Nino's birthday.**

Marinette said it wasn't a lie they were going to the shops to find a gift for Nino. Afterwards though she planned on going to La Seine to confess. That is, of course, if nothing gets in the way of her confession.

 **Marinette: I gotta go sweet dreams.**

After clicking send Marinette blinked and read his reply multiple times.

 **Adrien: Sweet dreams Marinette. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Cx**

He sent her a smiley face at the end of his text and it sent her over the moon. When Alya came back she saw Marinette face flat on the floor and her phone on the floor by the door. Looking at the text she immediately saw why Marinette had fallen off the bed. She was not going to let Marinette live this down. She snapped a picture of Marinette in this state then helped her back on the bed and shut the light off.

"I know you're probably excited about your date this weekend but we still have a week of school and a particularly exciting party to go to before then." Alya said then laid in the bed next to her. Marinette blinked her eyes then flashed back to Alya's words.

"Date." Marinette repeated Alya's word.

"Yes sweetie a date." I goofy smile crept on Marinette's face. She laid in bed looking at the rof for hours then eventually fell asleep 3 hours before she and Alya were to wake up to head to class.

…

"Hey Nino." Alya said as Nino entered the classroom. He sighed and sat in his seat and turned around in his seat. Alya cracked her back and stretched in her seat.

"Hey beautiful." He began rummaging around in his wallet. As Adrien entered the classroom he had found the money he owed Alya and was handing it to her. "How'd you sleep?" He asked with a mischievous grin on his face knowing the answered as she sat uncomfortably on the chair.

"I don't know why I let her sleep in my bed when she sleeps over. She's such a cuddler." Was Alya's answer.

"Oh you know you love cuddles." Mumbled the half asleep Marinette beside her. Marinette had her head propped on one hand with her eyes closed. Alya, Adrien and Nino laughed only for Marinette's ears to perk up at the sound of Adrien laughing.

"Hi A-Adrien." She blushed.

"Hey Mari."

"Alright class in your seats. It's time for class." The week passed and It was already the end of school when Marinette and Alya were getting ready at Alya's for the party. Marinette's parents were aware she was going and told her to take her key in case they were already asleep by the time she got home. Alya and Marinette got dressed into cute sundresses, Alya's was three shades of orange with yellow flowers while Marinette's was a sapphire blue. Until it was time to head to the party they stayed and watched tv and went through the recent videos sent to the Ladyblog. Alya wore her hair up in a pony tail while Marinette wore her's down with braids using a portion of her hair from above her ears and brought them to meet in a pony tail that let the last half of her hair mingle with the wore a light layer of make up and the two met up with Nino on their way to Kim's party.

Last time Kim had a party it got rescheduled because of an akuma attack that got close to the two story cabin his parents let him use that's located just outside of town in the woods near the Bois de Boulogne. The three went on Nino's scooter. Course he had to attach a wagon to the back of the scooter so Marinette could tag along. She didn't mind though. She enjoyed riding in the wagon. She laughed the whole way. She didn't tell them, but it reminded her of flying through city as Ladybug with her yo-yo. They believed her explanation of it reminding her of swinging on a swing in the park.

They got lost on their way to the party so when they got there nearly every kid in town was there. Kids that didn't go to the same school as Mari and her friends were there and everyone seemed to keep to their groups for the most part. Juleka and Rose had called out to Marinette, Alya and Nino. The three joined them and Marinette couldn't help but compliment the dresses they were wearing.

"Those dresses are so cute." Marinette said as she took in the seem work and style of the dresses. She saw that, unlike Rose's pink dress that had four layers of frills and went just above her knees, Juleka's was a simple eggplant purple dress that went to her mid-calf area and flared out that was brought in at her waist by a braided belt.

"Thanks Mari." Juleka said as she sipped her drink with a small smile.

"Oh Marinette you are so sweet." Rose gushed and hugged Marinette. Her blonde hair was still cut short and was styled so her bottom half was slicked back with styling gel. The top was brushed neatly and had two heart pins holding her bangs back. Juleka's hair was worn down and the side bang was held back by a butterfly clip whose owner was no doubt her girlfriend.

"How's your arm doing?" Juleka asked.

"It's doing better." Marinette said.

"Hey girl, me and Nino are gonna go dance we'll leave you here with the girls." Alya said then left arm-in-arm to dance. They went to the designated dance floor and disappeared into the mass of bodies.

"Ooh Mari guess who's here?" Rose said but before she let Marinette answer she called out, "Adrien over here!" Marinette's eyes shot open and the hair on the back of her neck stood up seconds later. He was behind her. She could smell the light cologne.

"Hey you guys. Are you having fun?" Adrien said from beside Marinette. He hadn't realized it was Marinette until she turned and looked him in the eyes.

"Yeah we stopped dancing to get drinks and then we saw Mari. Alya and Nino arrive. The other two are around here somewhere dancing." Rose said giving Juleka a knowing look. Marinette was flushed and had a dorky look on her face.

"Hey Adrien. I don't mean to bother you but do you think you could go get me and Rose a refill and a cup for Marinette please?" Juleka asked with a shy smile on her face.

"Sure, anything specific I can get for you ladies?" He smiled a true smile. It wasn't the same fake smile from what he normally would show to the camera.

"Pink for me!" Shouted Rose.

"I'll have the same as her." Juleka said as she pointed her finger at Rose.

"And for you Marinette?" His smile grew as he looked at her. His kind eyes made her almost stutter but she remembered the compliments that all the girls and Chat had told her.

"Anything is fine with me. Thank you Adrien." Her blush grew but she didn't stutter once. Adrien took Juleka and Rose's cups and went to the table with the drinks across from them. Juleka and Rose squealed when he was a safe distance away.

"Oh my god we are so proud of you Marinette!" Rose squealed as she clapped her hands rather enthusiastically. Juleka glanced at her with a smile on her face. Her perky attitude always brought joy to Juleka.

"Glad you are starting to be confident in yourself." Juleka placed her hand on Marinette's shoulder and looked over at Adrien who was carrying four cups. " I think this is your chance for brownie points." She turned Marinette around and Rose gave her a swift kick in the butt to get her on her way.

Adrien had grabbed the four cups and had two against his body. When he entered the cabin his eyes immediately locked onto the bluenette and he thought that the sapphire blue dress flattered her greatly. He hadn't realized that it was Marinette until he approached the young couple who she was talking to. She was beautiful on normal occasions but with the light layer of makeup on her face made her blue bell eyes pop and made Adrien realize just how delicate her features were. The look she made nearly made him laugh. Was she trying to make him laugh. As he walked away to get the drinks he couldn't help but grin. When he saw her trip on his way to him he was about to drop the drinks to catch her but she was able to keep herself up. The look of shock that was on her face made Adrien want to laugh as soon as it was replaced with glee as she pumped her fist and whispered a yes. She then looked around to make sure no one saw her but when her eyes met Adrien's where he stood a few feet away she blushed.

"Here let me help you." She mumbled and grabbed the two cups he had pressed to his body. She tried to pretend that what he just saw hadn't happened. He let go of the cups she grabbed for when he was sure she had a firm grip on the two cups. Marinette kept her eyes to the ground except for when she would peek up at his face. He caught her once and she quickly looked away. He couldn't understand why she kept doing this. He's noticed that she's done this often since they were 14.

"Thanks Marinette." Adrien said flashing a smile at Marinette that nearly blinded her when she looked up at him. She didn't look away this time instead she froze in place.

"You're - You're welcome Adrien!" Marinette's heart leapt in her chest.

"You are one funny girl Marinette." Adrien said as he nudged her with his elbow. "So we still on for tomorrow?" He asked Marinette. Juleka and Rose's ears perked at the words and a cat like grin formed on Rose's face and Juleka had the biggest smile Marinette had ever seen on her face.

"Of course." Marinette said with a bright smile on her face. Adrien was momentarily stunned he felt like he had seen that smile before but never on Marinette's face. His stomach did a flip that only Ladybug had ever been able to elicit in him.


	11. Chapter 11

Heya everyone. So I wrote this chapter immediately after writing chapter 10 but decided to wait up on posting it. I hope you all enjoy it.

...

Adrien wasn't sure what to do at the party. He liked the music that was playing but didn't feel like dancing to it. Rose and Juleka had asked Marinette if she could watch their drinks while they danced and she accepted so he decided he'd stay and talk with her. By the time Marinette was on her third cup she was talking to him easier than normal.

"Marinette do I scare you?" Adrien asked as he saw her go to drink more from her cup only to see she had finished it. Her eyes went wide at his question.

"No!" Marinette answered quicker than Adrien ever thought was possible. "Why would you think I'm afraid of you?" Marinette giggled. His heart stopped when he heard her giggle. It was adorable.

"It's just everytime I talk to you it seems you don't want to talk to me or you seem to mumble." Adrien said scratching his head. He recalled all the times he'd talk to her and she'd trip over her words and would go quiet and would shake or twiddle her thumbs.

"No I'm not scared of you." She laughed at the sigh he let out afterwards.

"Would you like another cup?" Adrien asked after Marinette seemed to forget her cup was empty and went to take another sip.

"Are you sure that won't be a bother?" Marinette asked with a slight sleepy look over her eyes and a shy smile.

"Of course not." His smile never dropped once while they spoke and he set his drink down to go get her another. He got her the same that he was drinking which was a purple punch. When he brought it over he handed it to her. Their hands touched but Marinette didn't seem to mind at all because the smile on her face never faltered. Nino then came up behind Adrien with a finger in front of his mouth signalling for Marinette to not say a word. Alya was close behind him.

"Boo!" Nino shouted and made Adrien jump.

"Nino!" Adrien was surprised. "About time you showed up."

"You're one to talk dude." Nino laughed. "How long have you been here anyways?" He asked as he leaned on his buds shoulder.

"Not long." Adrien answered.

"He got here just after you two left to dance." Marinette giggled.

"Seriously girl?" Alya asked which got a nod from Marinette. "That was like three hours ago" Alya said after taking a look at her phone. "Were you two talking the whole time?"

"YeaP!" Marinette popped her 'P'. She drank down nearly all of her drink and stood up straight from leaning against the wall. She was hit by a wave of dizziness and a full bladder. "I'll be right back." Marinette said and just as she began to walk away, she stopped. "Oh those two drinks are Juleka and Rose's drinks can you watch them for me?" Marinette said pointing to the two cups by her nearly empty one.

"Course Mari." Alya replied then turned back to Nino. "Hey I did not fall back on those people. They were the ones…" Marinette heard as she walked away. It took her a moment to find the bathroom but when she did she made sure to check in on Tikki who was sleeping in her purse before using it. Every second that passed she began to feel dizzier and her mind grew foggier. After washing her hands, and having trouble finding the doorknob, she turned the light in the bathroom off as she exited. She left the bathroom only to be pressed to the wall by a guy she had never met before. His hair was a dirty blond, nearly brown color, that was tied behind his back and his eyes were a light shade of brown. There were two guys behind him and they were smirking at her as the guy who pinned her had a charismatic looking grin on his face. The two guys had brown hair and brown eyes. One's hair was cut so short it could be considered a buzz cut while the other's was wavy and went to his chin.

"I've been waiting all night to get a chance to talk to you all night." He said as he used the hand that wasn't blocking her path to run a strand of her hair between his fingers. "Is that guy your boyfriend?" He asked Marinette.

"No…" Marinette mumbled. "But I-"

"Perfect." He grinned a large smile and got closer.

…

Nino drank the last gulp of Marinette's drink and winced.

"Dude how many of these did Marinette drink?" Nino asked setting the cup down. Adrien looked confused.

"That was her fourth. Why?" Alya wasn't there because Juleka and Rose had pulled her back to the dancefloor. Adrien's face felt hot but he wasn't sure why.

"Dude that was not punch. How high did you fill the cups?" Nino asked. Adrien looked in the cup then at Nino. "Jesus did you fill the cups all the way?"

"Yeah.." The dots weren't connecting in Adrien's mind. He felt slow.

"Were you trying to get her wasted?" Nino laughed.

"Be right back." Adrien instantly felt sober for a moment and went off in the direction he had watched Marinette head. He found her being backed into a corner by three guys. The fear on her face was enough to make him act. He grabbed the blonde by his shoulders and spun him to face him. "What do you think you're doing?" Adrien's voice was harsh and the guy instantly felt a wave of cold run through him as fear took him over. He and his friends quickly ran away and Marinette stumbled over to Adrien. He pulled her into a deep hug and let all his anger and worry dissipate. He just held her close until he heard the distinct nasally voice of Chloe behind him.

"Dupain-Cheng what do you think you're doing touching my Adrikins?!" She grabbed Adrien's arm and pulled him away from Marinette then grabbed someone's cup of colored liquid and dumped it over Marinette's head and dress. Marinette couldn't comprehend what was happening from the fog in her head, she just knew that Chloe dumped something cold on her that was making the little bit of makeup she was wearing run and that she was beginning to feel sticky.

"Chloe why did you do that?" Adrien's agitated voice sounded like a distant echo to Marinette.

"That peasant was touching you. She is so low class that she shouldn't even be here. She should have just stayed home. She is such a waste of space. Why was she even born…" Chloe's hateful words continued on and Marinette only heard about half of them. Sorrow, hurt, confusion, and embarrassment flooded through her. What did she do to deserve this? What had she done to make Chloe be so mean to her? What would Adrien think now that she has embarrassed him like this in front of all their friends and the other kids people their age.

Adrien and Chloe's words no longer reached her ears. Neither did the screams of the kids around her as the akuma entered the cabin through and open window. Alya and Nino followed the screams of the kids as they ran out of the house. They watched as the butterfly entered the case over top Marinette's earrings and a wave of purple ripple through her body. The purple held on to her skin as she clutched her shoulders and held herself as she cried out in pain. She felt a stinging and pounding sensation throughout her body as the little sanity she had left fought off the akuma. Alya, Nino and Adrien knelt beside where Marinette laid crumbled on the wooden floor and called out to her to fight the influence.

"Stupid Dupain-Cheng." Chloe said then walked out the room. "I'm going to go wait for Ladybug to ask for my help. She'll come get me from daddy's hotel."

" ** _You cannot fight me off forever child. Give in and I can help you make those who've wronged you pay."_** Hawkmoth's voice echoed through her mind. The outline of his mask appeared around her eyes. " ** _Stop fighting me gir-"_** The mask shattered in a burst of purple dust and Marinette's body went limp and returned to normal.

"A-Aunt F-" Marinette passed out

"MARINETTE!" Alya shouted and brought her unconscious friend's head into her lap.

"Does anyone have her Aunt's phone number?" Nino asked the two that stayed in the house and was close enough to Marinette.

"I- I do." Alya started to cry she had never seen anything like this happen when someone fought off an akuma's influence. Normally the butterfly would leave the person's body and return to whence it came when Hawkmoth was not successful. Nino grabbed her phone when she tried to open it with shaking hands. He scrolled through the contacts until he found the contact 'Mme Fei-Hung'. He quickly pressed call and the phone rang once before being picked up.

"Fei-Hung Cheng speaking." She answered.

"Madam my name's Nino, I'm Marinette's friend. I think she wanted me to call you." Nino wasn't sure how to speak to this woman. Unlike Marinette and the family he has met this woman's tone was sharp and made him slightly uncomfortable. It reminded him alot of the tone Adrien's dad uses.

"What's happened?" She asked.

"There was an akuma she broke it's control but she's passed out. We don't know what to do. She was saying your name when she passed out."

"Bring her to me I will send you the address and the suit number. Be quick." She hung up and the address was quickly sent in a text to Alya's phone.

"Shit I don't recognize this address. Do you?" Nino showed it to Alya who shook her head.

"I know it!" He said after Nin turned the phone to him. "I will take her." Adrien scooped Marinette up in his arms. "Take Alya home I'll text you two updates." Adrien quickly ran into the woods and woke Plagg, who was in his pocket, and transformed. Plagg asked no questions and quickly went through the city using his baton and stopped in an alley near the hotel her aunt was staying in. He detransformed and gave Plagg the cheese he kept for emergencies and let him eat it in his pocket. Adrien used the elevator and quickly found the aunt's room. Before Adrien had the chance to knock the door opened. Set her on the couch the other's are already here.

Adrien was about to ask who the others were but he saw all the girls who shared some of the same features as Marinette in the room.

…

Adrien had been rushed out of the room and kept in the hall until he had been brought back in nearly 2 hours later. He had sent texts to Alya and Nino in that time and when he was let back in to see Marinette he sent one letting them know she was fine.

"Thanks for bringing her here Chat Noir." The aunt said as she dismissed the other six girls and they went into the rooms that were connected to the living room.

"I'm not-" Adrien began but was stopped by Fei-Hung raising her hand.

"No need to lie. I already know and I won't tell Marinette." She handed him a slip of paper with her cell phone number written down on it.

"Thank you. Is Marinette ok?" Adrien asked. She still looked pale but her color was slowly returning.

"She'll be fine. A warning though, The day is fast approaching when you and Ladybug will need Marinette's abilities to defeat the darkness that is approaching." Fei-Hung reached and brushed Marinette's hair out of the way. "There will be a day when she knows your identity but it must be when the time is right young man. So give her time."

"What do you-" Adrien wasn't able to finish his question once again.

"Please take her home. This couch will not be comfortable for her." Fei-Hung said and opened the balcony screens. She had left the glass open to get fresh air circulating at sunset. "She doesn't understand or know much but the day is coming where she will understand why I had to be so harsh." Fei-Hung said as the boy gently picked up the sleeping girl and went to the balcony. He transformed and he held her tightly in his arms as he took her home. He knew going through the front door was not possible so he hoped her trap door was unlocked. It was. He gently lowered them into her room and detransformed. Plagg went to Marinette's desk and grabbed one of her candies knowing she wouldn't mind. He had snuck off while Adrien was sleeping many times to hang with her and she'd let him have some every time.

Adrien was about to take her to her bed when he realized she was still covered in the drink and her dress was wet. He grabbed a bowl of water from her bathroom and a washcloth.

"Marinette.." Adrien whispered into her ear. He repeated it till she groggily woke up. He had her wipe herself off with them and was going to find her a night dress to wear. "Where are you pagama's?" Adrien asked.

"By… undies…" She mumbled as she nearly fell asleep in between each word. He paled. He wasn't going to go in her underwear drawer. He decided to take his button up off and handed it to her so she could change into it. He turned his back and let her change. She fell asleep halfway in so he gently called her name for her to wake up and finish. When she did, he took her computer hair and placed it in front of her bathroom's sink and gently placed her in it. He washed her hair in the sink and washed it. She let out a hum as he washed her hair. He towel dried her hair and then took her back to the bed. Plagg was sleeping on the empty pin cushion on her desk. He was going to leave but she woke up just enough to hug Adrien to her and her strength kept him down.

"Marinette I need to go." He could feel the alcohol in his system and wanted to sleep it off.

"Five more minutes." Marinette mumbled and her grip tightened around his neck. He'd slept over as Chat on a few occasions before and left by sunrise. Where's the harm in doing it as Adrien once. The wine in his system reasoned with him. He gave in and laid next to Marinette who nuzzled into his neck. He laid there in her arms with her in his and just laid there and watched her as she slept not long after her grip began to loosen and he left her warmth.

He left as he placed a kiss on her forehead and transformed and left.

…

"Go on up Alya. She's probably still asleep though." Sabine said as she handed a customer their order.

"Thank you Mme Cheng." Alya said and went upstairs to see her friend still sleeping.


	12. chapter 12

Heya finally got this chapter posted sorry for such a delay and hope everyone had Happy Holidays. Please enjoy this chapter and feel free to comment if you'd like.

Marinette woke to Alya's phone going off. Alya had scrambled to grab the phone and silence the intrusive noise before it'd wake her sleeping friend. She turned from Marinette as she answered.

"Yes…" She hissed into the phone. She hadn't glanced at the caller Id so she wasn't aware that it was Nino until he replied.

"How's Marinette?" Nino's voice was loud enough to reach Marinette's ears. She grabbed her head in an attempt to ease the raging headache the was the after effect of the wine she had been drinking last night.

"Marinette is fine but has a raging headache." She answered for Alya even thought Nino would be unable to hear. She rubbed at her eyes as Alya told Nino that Marinette was fine and awake and then hung up after telling him she'd call him afterwards.

"Hey girl. How you feeling?" Alya said in a caring motherly tone. She kept her voice down, not wanting to cause her friend anymore pain.

"I'm fine. What happened last night?" Marinette asked as she looked around the room. Her memories of the night were nonexistent.

"Chloe pulled one of her stunts again." Alya said and sat on the bed next to Marinette. "You almost became one of her victims last night. I'm so sorry. I thought she would have out grown this by now." Alya filled Marinette in on the details of the night before. As much as she could, and then made the girl go to the shower while she made two calls. The first was to Nino. She told him she was going to sit with Marinette and watch over her for a while and that she'd meet up with him afterwards. Then she called Adrien. This was one call she felt needed to be done as soon as possible.

"Hey Adrien." Alya said when she heard Adrien pick up the phone. "It's me Alya." She said making sure he knew in case he didn't check the caller ID before picking up.

"Alya. Hey what's going on?" Adrien said as he shot up from where he laid on a roof contemplating whether or not to visit Marinette as chat or not. He had detransformed over an hour prior and could decide. "How is she?" Adrien finally asked.

"She's…" she glanced in the direction of her bathroom and heard the sound of the shower running still. "She's confused." Alya sighed then climbed up the ladder to the balcony and on the ledge looking into the room.

"Confused?" Adrien parroted.

"She doesn't remember anything after arriving at the party." Alya clarified. Adrien was slightly relieved that she didn't remember what happened. He liked how much the two of them talked and how nice it was to actually have a conversation with the bluenette. He really liked how nice her laugh was and her smile when she was talking to him. The fear in Marinette's eyes the night before was something he never wanted her to remember.

"Did you tell her about…" Adrien couldn't being himself to say it.

"I didn't tell her the specifics but I told her she almost was Akumatized." Alya placed her free hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "Maybe I should postpone my internship until Hawkmoth is caught." She could hear the sharp inhale through the phone. She could still hear the shower running so she didn't have to worry about Marinette over hearing her. She had just found out that morning that her internship application was approved and was planning on tell Marinette when she was feeling better. She had two months until she was to leave Paris.

"Is that what you want to do?" Adrien wasn't sure what to say in response so he said the first thing that came to mind.

"No but I'm worried about Marinette. I don't want to leave her alone." Alya was worried about what was going to happen to her friend when she was away for the internship. She knew that the weeks at a time she was gone for this last year had affected Marinette alot and didn't want it to get worse for her cheerful friend.

"She won't be alone Alya. Me and Nino are here for her too." There was a smile audible in his voice and it made Alya perk up. "If it makes you feel better I will promise to visit her at least once a week whenever you plan on going for your internship." Adrien said know how Alya felt towards promises. He truly meant what he said. Both of them knew it. Plagg listened in and couldn't help but make fake gagging sounds. The look on Adrien's face made Plagg wanna bust out laughing but he held it back with his hands over his mouth.

"I know I'm going out on a ledge asking this of you, but could you do me a favor? Would you be willing to help me watch over her? Be my eyes while I'm gone?" Alya asked as she removed the hand from her chest and ran it through her hair as she peeked downstairs as she heard the shower turn off.

"Of course. What are friends for?" Adrien replied with a big dorkie grin on his lips.

"I got to go. Marinette just got out of the shower. I'm gonna take her out for abit them have a girl's day in with her." Alya said. She waited for Adrien's response then bid him a good day then hung up.

Marinette got out of the shower to find Alya at the base of the ladder propped against it and looking at her with her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face.

"What's that look?" Marinette asked as she towel dried her hair .

"Let's go grab some things from the store." Alya said then headed for the trap door of the room. "Grab your purse I'll meet you downstairs." Alya shut the trap door behind herself leaving Marinette and Tikki alone. Tikki came out from her hiding spot under the bed and grabbed Marinette's purse on her way to Marinette.

"Here's your purse. I made sure your phone was charged before putting it in." The kwami said as she smiled brightly at the young lady before her. Brought the Kwami in for a hug and gave her a kiss on the head.

"What would I ever do without you, Tikki?!" She grabbed the green plaid flannel jacket she had draped on the back of her computer chair and carefully put it on and opened the front so Tikki could take her place in the pocket positioned at her waist during the trip. Her hair was still damp so she separated the hair in half and brought them over her shoulders. She did quick braids that started halfway through her hair them place hair ties at the ends to hold the braids together. She tossed them back over her shoulders and made her way to her friend who waited for her.

They went down to the store on the corner just past the park and grabbed some snacks and face masks of varying styles and brands. They spent the rest of their time relaxing until Marinette's aunt called asking for Marinette to come over if she was free. Alya said she needed to go and update Nino but offered to take Marinette over to her aunt's but Marinette thanked her but said she could do it herself. They parted and Marinette transformed and left via the balcony. She arrived within moments and found her standing at the glass doors.

Something wasn't right. Marinette was able to sense it as soon as she saw her aunt's form from a distance.

"Marinette come in." Fei-Hung said as she gestured for her niece to come in. Marinette detransformed and was now in the green flannel that sat opened over her blank undershirt and blue jean shorts with the ends rolled up so they went just below mid thigh. "You look just like her." Fei-Hung mumbled so low that Marinette couldn't have been too sure about what she heard.

"Is something wrong?" Marinette asked as she handed Tikki a macaron. Moments like this had never be seen by Marinette when it came to her aunt. Her aunt kept a strong front whenever she was near the young heroine.

"I never meant for things to end up like this for you." Fei-Hung said. Her lips held a frown and her eyes showed an untold amount of sadness. "I did my duty and not once let my personal feelings get in the way." Marinette placed her hand on her aunt's shoulder.

"Aunt Fei-hung, what's going on? Is everything alright?" Marinette kept her voice steady despite the concern and tinge of fear that she felt.

"Remember this," Fei-Hung began, "Everything I have done has been for the better good and that, even though my sister and I's relationship has been strained over the years I have ever done anything to hurt her or you."

"What's going on?" Marinette demanded as she now was done with the beating around the bush. She wanted to know what was so important for her aunt to call her over and why she was acting so strange.

"I have used the glamour on your mind." Her aunt finally came out and said it. Marinette was shocked by this statement and backed a step back. "Twice. The first will dissolve when the time is right. The second I am going to remove now for a battle is coming and you need to approach it with a clear mind." Fei-Hung tried to use Marinette's confusion to her advantage and rushed forward with her arm extended towards Marinette's head. Marinette saw this movement when she was a fraction of an inch away and blocked her by knocking her hand away. Fei-Hung swung her other hand out and was blocked once again. The third time worked as a charm because when Marinette went to block the first arms second attempt, Fei-Hung didn't carry through with the first arm, instead she brought her second hand up and placed her palm against Marinette's temple.

Marinette's hearing soon faded and a ringing sensation took over her body.

 _"Chat!" Marinette called out as she awake from a particularly terrible nightmare. The battle with Chat Blanc had affected Marinette in many ways. She came to realize her feelings towards Adrien and Chat were becoming more and more similar and she feared the possibility of losing Chat once again. Her heart hurt as she thought back on the dream where the ladybug who was turned to stone was herself and that Chat Blanc had shoved his powered claw through her chest with the beam in his hand instead of the accident that had happened…_

 _"It's all my fault Tikki. I led them right to Master Fuu." Marinette said as grief and anger filled her. She walked the length of her desk back and forth scratching the palms of her hands._

 _"Marinette, I know you're upset but everything will be okay." Tikki tried to sooth her partner. In Tikki's small hands was the newly formed miraculous case. The red case with black spots made Marinette sick to look at._

 _"This wasn't supposed to happen. What am I supposed to do Tikki?" Marinette began to panic as an overwhelming sense of doom overtook her. She clutched her chest. Her breathing became ragged in the process and she was feeling sick to her stomach…_

 _The muffled cries of Marinette's mother made their way up the stairs and to Marinette. Marinette had been the cause of her mother's distress. Just after she had returned from her first summer at her aunt's she had been cleaning the attic and found a few boxes and a trunk in the furthest corner. Inside were what looked like the belongings of a teenage girl so Marinette thought it may have been her mother's belongings. She went down stairs and asked her mom if she could look through it and her mom was confused._

 _"What do you mean?" Sabine asked Marinette as she dried her hands on a clean towel._

 _"Up in the attic. Towards the back are some boxes and a trunk." Marinette specified._

 _"Lead the way and I'll let you know sweetie." The petite woman followed her teenage daughter up to the attic and Marinette pointed out the boxes. "Hm. That's strange. I don't recognize these." Sabine mumbled then opened the trunk. Her eyebrows scrunched up and her smile fell to a frown quickly after she began to go through the trunk. When she came upon a photograph she quickly closed the box and ran downstairs with the picture clutched to her chest._

 _"Mom what's wrong?" Marinette asked as she followed behind her mother to the phone in the living room. She began to dial a number Marinette didn't recognize that was not in France._

 _"Marinette I need you to go to your room while I make a phone call. Please stay in your room and don't mess with those boxes." Sabine said. Marinette did as her mom said and when her dad asked where her mother was she quickly told him then went upstairs. She sat on the edge of the trap door and listened to the event happening._

 _"Honey is something wrong?" Tom asked as he placed his hands on his wife's shoulders feeling the tension in her muscles._

 _"I need to talk to my sister." She replied. Her face was determined and scared. "Fei-Hung what's going on?" She waited for a response then quickly asked "Where is she? What have you done?" There was once again a pause that lasted a great deal longer then Marinette was able to hear the hurt and angry voice of her mother. "You had no right. Please." Her mothers voice became pleading. "Please, I'll do anything. Just please." Marinette's mother's voice cracked as she spoke and tears most definitely were trailing down the mother's cheeks. The phone call ended and Marinette's mother drank some tea and quickly went to her and Tom's room…_

 _"Aunt Fei-Hung welcome." Marinette greeted her aunt as when her aunt arrived one evening. Marinette was tired from her training and the Akuma that had interrupted said training which was resumed after her return._

 _"Thank you Marinette. Where is your mother? I need to speak with her for a moment." Fei-Hung asked as she casually glanced around the bakery._

 _"She's upstairs in the room with dad." Marinette led the way and knocked on the door letting her father who was with the sleeping Sabine know that she had arrived._

 _"I'll just leave you two-"_

 _"That won't be necessary Tom." Fei-Hung began. "You can stay. I need to speak with you as well." She turned towards Marinette. "Thank you Marinette can you wait in the bakery for me?" Fei-Hung smiled. Marinette nodded and beamed at how beautiful her aunt's smile was. She felt a little strange seeing how normally her aunt was like a stone but she shrugged it off and went back down stairs._

 _"Marinette I want to teach you something." Fei-Hung said when she came back downstairs and saw that the bakery was empty besides Marinette at the counter munching on a cherry turnover. "Its called a glamour. You can make an item or space appear differently to those who see it or just to a select person or group." She demonstrated by making the cash register disappear and be replaced by a case with a single rose in the glass. "It can also be used to alter a person's memory in the same way. You need to focus on the object you want to change and imagine it's whatever item you want. Now you try." She had Marinette practice on the turnover she was eating. Once she turned the turnover to a fork then back to a turn over her aunt smiled again. This time it was a sad smile. "Now here's how you do the same with memories." She placed her hands over Marinette's temples and everything went black for Marinette._

 ** _"Bridgette wait for me!" Echoed through Marinette's ears. It was her own voice._**

 ** _"Oh my god hurry up Mari you're going to miss him!" A familiar voice called back from a distance._**

 ** _The happy tones of the two girls changed to ones of fear._**

 ** _"You can't keep doing this. What if you get hurt? Or worse?"_**

 ** _"Please just give me alil more time. At least to help find someone else."_**

 ** _"One more week. Then you're done. Mom and Dad would be devastated if you got hurt."_**


End file.
